Sasuke
by Daniel Terres
Summary: I was many things in my life. I was an avenger, a fighter, a ninja. But I was never a savior. I can't save the world from an angry goddess! I am just, well, too me to do it! Just what were you thinking Naruto? (NOT DEAD BY THE WAY, JUST ON HOLD!)
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke

By: Daniel Terres

Pain. It's all I could feel. But I guess that's life for you. My family was murdered by my own brother, I almost killed him in revenge, and our world was taken over by a mad goddess. I was never in the right sense of mind, so why does Naruto think he needs to do this?

"Why can't you go? You are a much better choice than me." And then comes that smile. I hate that smile so much, and yet it brings an odd sense of happiness to my life. Companionship, friendship, something I so desperately needed when I was younger.

"You know why Sasuke. I won't survive this jutsu, even with Kurama inside me, and I need you to look after him. I need YOU to fix things for us!" Naruto's eyes seemed to be pleading to me, and I couldn't help but flinch. Still though, I couldn't help but try one last time.

"You know what that fox thinks of me Naruto. I haven't been the best friend in your life, and being an Uchiha doesn't help." I learned long ago that being an Uchiha means nothing in the real world. If only it was something I realized sooner. Then maybe none of this would've happened.

Naruto just looks at me strangely, and then begins laughing. I don't get it, what's so funny? "What's so funny dobe?" I can't help but smirk at the old nickname I use to call Naruto.

Naruto's chuckles begin dying down, but there is a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He flashes a fox-like grin at me and says. "I think Kurama not liking you is one of your lowest worries."

I shift in place, suddenly finding extreme interest in the horizon. But that's when I notice something that has come to haunt me. In the distance, behind the trees that surrounded this clearing, were people. But not normal people, no. These were those damn chakra zombies that Kaguya made. Each one of them sucked dry of chakra and then resurrected by that damn goddess for her little quest. It made me sick just thinking about it.

Luckily there weren't any people I knew within the horde, or else I might've just lost it right then and there. I turn back to Naruto and find that he's already noticed the horde. His face is set into grim determination, his blazing blue eyes flashing with pent up energy.

And it was at that moment that I know we can't wait any longer. It took us weeks to gain enough distance from Kaguya to actually finish and prepare this jutsu for use. If we don't go now, we might never get another chance.

Naruto looks over to me and nods. I nod as well, ignoring the building knot in my stomach. I can't back down now, not when we are this close. I have to ignore my emotions, just like I've done so many times before.

I step within the large and complex seal that Naruto crafted and channel some chakra into it. I can feel the seal bind to my chakra, locking me into the jutsu. Naruto then begins going through a complex set of hand signs, moving at a speed that almost rivals Kakashi's.

I look behind Naruto and can see the horde getting closer, each of them shambling along like mindless beasts. But I can't call them much more than that anymore. I look back at Naruto and see that he has finished the set of hand signs. Now all that's left is activating the seal itself.

Naruto brings his hands together into the ram seal and begins focusing. Sweat begins forming on his forehead as his chakra is sapped into the seal. It doesn't take long for Naruto to completely activate the seal. The only thing keeping it from actually doing its purpose was Naruto's will alone.

Naruto looks up at me with a pained face, and yet he is grinning. "I hope you don't back down on me, teme." I simply smirk in response. "Give me a little more credit, dobe. I know I can't stop now." Naruto nods, and then begins going through more hand signs.

Now comes the part that we both dreaded. Naruto begins very carefully extracting the Kyuubi and resealing him within myself. The only reason this even works is the pure genius that Naruto's idiocy can be sometimes. The fact that this seal completely holds back the Kyuubi's poisonous chakra is enough to make even me impressed.

Naruto begins panting in exhaustion, the effort to remove the tailed beast being extremely taxing. Thank kami for that Uzumaki blood making him so durable. After those few agonizing moments of pain for the both of us, Naruto then let's the jutsu activate.

The seal begins glowing a bright blue, pure chakra being poured out of the symbols in torrental amounts. I have to shield my eyes from the amount of chakra being released, so I don't notice what happened next. I can only guess, but not even my best hopes can help stop my regret.

A loud, demonic shriek echoes across the clearing, causing both of our blood to go cold. I can just barely see through the wall of chakra that I can see Kaguya descending upon the field. She looks as nonchalant as ever, but I know that she is furious. We have been a thorn in her side for months now, and she won't be hesitant to kill us any longer.

Sadly, my thoughts are correct. I can see Kaguya prep herself for an attack, Naruto on the ground panting. I can only watch in horror as she sends a storm of those ash bones at the both of us. I put my hands together in a desperate attempt to stop the bones when I hear I sickening *THUD*

My eyes widen in horror as I see Naruto jump in front of me. The bones all collide into his body, each and every limb having ash impaling them. I then watch as his body begins crumbling, just like Obito's did. Just like Kakashi's did. Just like Sakura.

My sharingan must've activated on instinct because the memory begins burning itself into my brain, never allowing me to forget it. And then Naruto does something that I didn't think was possible for even him.

He looks back at me, struggling all the while. He gives me one more grin and says "Don't forget me teme. Save the world for us." And then his face begins crumbling. His eyes close, almost in acceptance of his fate. It doesn't even take a second before he is nothing more than dust.

No, no no no no. This can't be happening! Naruto was the last person I cared for that was alive! He was the one that brought me out of my insanity, the one that showed me true happiness after so much time of sorrow. Why does this keep happening to the ones I care about.

I let out a scream of primal rage, my chakra exploding around me. Curiously enough, I could feel something else as well. Something malevolent, angry… and sad. The feeling courses through me like a blazing inferno, causing me to just scream louder. I glare at Kaguya, feeling something different about me. But I don't get to think on it much longer.

I begin to feel the jutsu pulling me into the temporal void. The seal was beginning to send me back in time. I let out another roar of rage, this time at being stopped from getting my revenge. I kick and scream, chakra rushing out of me in waves. I begin to feel myself being lifted off the ground.

And then the darkness came. Naruto, just what were you thinking?

 **-Author Notes-**

 **And thus begins my second story! I had this idea for a while, and while I know it isn't original by any means, I just couldn't help myself. But, original or not, Sasuke's time travel journey begins!**


	2. Chapter 2

I felt so tired. Getting flung back in time was not a pleasant experience. It felt like I was getting torn apart and then put together again. I lost concionscienceness at some point. I'm not sure when.

The next thing I remember is waking up very disoriented. Where am I? What happened? I look around at the familiar looking room, and then everything comes rushing back to me. The jutsu. The horde of zombies. Kaguya. Naruto…

I look around in a panic, wondering if it was all some crazy dream, that maybe, just maybe, Naruto was still alive. But looking around just confused me more. This room felt familiar. What was it?

Then it hits me. This was my old room, the one I used after my brother killed my entire clan. I just simply stare, too shocked to do anything else. Then I being laughing, the sound making me feel more relaxed than I ever had in a long time. Naruto you crazy bastard, it worked!

I laugh for a good while, relishing in the sweet sound that disappeared many years ago. Even Naruto's laughs had some sort of pain behind them. This was just pure relief. We have a chance! We can save the world! If there was a we anymore. Suddenly, the laughter had less of a calming effect on me and more of a self-reassurance effect.

But then something hits me. If I was sent back in time, then the Naruto of this time is still alive! I almost become giddy in excitement, my Uchiha pride being the only thing keeping me from cheering. If I could be a better teammate this time, then things'll surely work out better this time, right?

I was so eager to start on this task and see Naruto again that I never noticed one very important detail. I get up to go out to find Naruto, and I fall on my face. I was so shocked I didn't even register the pain.

I get up slowly, wondering what just happened. My legs wobble slightly under me, but other than that I could stand fine. Then I noticed something. Is it just me, or is everything taller? Almost as soon as this thought goes through my head, another one follows. This one makes me pale rapidly and I nearly fall on my face again to reach the bathroom.

I reach it without any more problems, but what I see in the mirror has me in a mess of thoughts. My body had shortened a good length, becoming around the same height I was when I graduated the academy. My hair style was the same, but my skin had regained some of its baby fat. The hards edges that came from my many years of experience fighting had disappeared, replaced with the inexperience of a rookie. But those weren't the only changes.

My eyes, normally a cold black onyx color, had changed to a grey-ish red. My pupils had also slitted, becoming like a cat's or a fox's. The blue tint in my hair had been replaced with a red tint. But the largest change were the three whisker marks located on each of my cheeks. If these weren't side effects of the Kyuubi being sealed inside me, then I don't know what is.

I rub my hand through my hair, almost in disbelief that it changed. I ruffle my hair, almost hoping that this was a trick, some forgotten prank Naruto pulled on me. My hopes dim when my hair doesn't change back to its blue tinted black. I rub my other hand across the whiskers marks on my cheeks, the skin rough and sharp. I shiver in pleasure when I touch them, but I still get bewildered at that fact. These things are real! How did I never figure that out with Naruto? Devious thoughts run through my mind about the jokes I could play on this Naruto, but then another more pressing issue presents itself.

The ninja of this village are no jokes. Even an experienced genin could tell that Sasuke Uchiha doesn't look like he is trying to cosplay as Naruto normally. Even Sasuke could see how people treated him at that age was horrible. Chock that up for another of his idiotic moments for the supposed genius.

If people were to see him with these marks and changes, then bad things are bound to happen. But how was he going to solve this? He couldn't henge since any ninja in the village above genin would pick that up in an instance. I never did practice that jutsu much. I probably should this time around.

I shake my head to rid myself of my straying thoughts. Naruto was too much of a bad influence. Now then, if I can't henge to cover them, then what options do I have? I can try and paint over them, but that was extremely dangerous on skin and must been done only if necessary and for short times.

I'm beginning to see only one option, one that'll get me caught for sure. I grimace, knowing that I have no other choices right now. I go through the hand signs and shout "Henge no jutsu!" A puff of smoke surrounds me and outcomes a normal looking Sasuke. I gaze at myself, just to make sure I got the details right. After seeing no errors, and making sure I was the right height for that time, I get out of the bathroom and prepare myself for the day.

I take another bite out of my tomato, kunai pack strapped to my leg, when I glance at the calendar I had on the wall. I may not be one for remembering specific dates or making a big deal out of holidays, but even I knew that academy graduation was an important day. So when I glance at the calendar and see each day crossed off up to the academy graduation day, I take off.

Kami, why did I have to land in graduation day! If I had known this, I would've gotten ready sooner instead of gawking at myself! I jump onto the rooftops and begin hopping to the academy, making sure that I make myself look at least a little clumsy. I'm pretty sure I didn't know how to do this or wall climbing until the Wave mission.

I get to the academy quickly and run inside, trying to remember the directions to my old classroom. Luckily my memory doesn't fail me and I manage to get into the classroom. Sadly, time was no so kind. It seemed that I had woken up even later than I thought. I was so late that even Naruto was here before me!

Each person's eyes lay on me. Luckily Iruka wasn't in here yet so I wouldn't need to deal with him asking questions. I slowly smooth out my outwards emotions, once again taking on the cool Uchiha air that I once had. It worked wonders at masking the pounding heart within my chest at this embarrassment.

I walk over to my desk, trying to look as nonchalant as ever. Each person simply watches in stunned silence. I bet they are all wondering how the "esteemed" Uchiha could be late on a day like this. I simply ignore them all. I just want to get this over with an get back home so I can plot on how to stop Kaguya.

I sit down, trying and failing to drown out the murmurs. I just fold my hands in front of me and glare at the wall in front of me like I used to do. I simply stare, waiting for Iruka to some in so that we can get our teams.

Suddenly, a loud thud is heard and someone is on top of the table. I glance up and my heart nearly skips a beat. Glaring at me with his fox-like look just like before, was Naruto. Naruto was alive! I could just barely keep back my excitement from showing.

Instead I just scowl like I know I would've and glare back at Naruto. But in my mind, I couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling in the back of my head. This moment seemed familiar to me. I feel like something bad is going to happen soon.

Then, without warning, Naruto begins tipping forward. My trained eyes are able to follow him in slow motion, and I watch as Naruto's eyes slowly re-open in surprise. Then, I remember why this moment felt important. No way am I living through that again!

My panic overrides my instincts for a brief second and I use the Kawarimi no Jutsu on the closest thing next to me. Sadly, said closest thing happened to be Sakura, who was leaning extremely closely to me.

I disappear in a puff of smoke and I reappear in Sakura's seat. Sakura herself appears in my seat, blinking a few times in confusion. And then, Naruto and Sakura's lips meet. Naruto's eyes widen in surprise, but it was quickly drowned out in happiness. Sakura herself was too confused to react to a kiss. She still seemed to be wondering how she moved so suddenly.

Then, Sakura's brain seemed to catch up with her. Her faces reddens to the color of a cherry, a combination of rage and embarrassment. She removes her mouth from Naruto, cocks her fist back, and slams it into Naruto with a scream of "BAKA!"

Naruto is sent flying back and hits the wall with a loud crash. I flinch involuntarily, sending silent empathy to Naruto. Sakura's punches always hurted. Then, I feel something strange. A fluctuation is sent through my chakra system and for a brief moment, it felt like my henge wavered. I glance around to see if anyone noticed, but it seemed like no one did. Or at least, I thought no one did.

That was also when Iruka decided to finally enter the room. He instantly notices Naruto stuck halfway in the wall, and looks at us in confusion. No one volunteers to explain, so Iruka just looks at Naruto again and pulls him out. Naruto falls to the door in a daze, swirls in his eyes. Iruka looks like he is about to lecture Naruto again, but decides seems to decide otherwise. Instead he just tells Naruto to go back to his seat and not to cause a ruckus.

After Naruto seats himself again, Iruka dives into his whole speech about what it means to be a ninja and why we are graduating. I tune him out, not really caring about what he says. Afterwards thought comes the teams. I sit alert for this, silently hoping for teams to stay the same.

"Team 7 will consist of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto cheers behind me in time with Sakura's groans. "And Sasuke Uchiha." Cue the sounds being reversed. Me, however, I am pleased. This means that I'll be able to change things. Things are looking up from here.

"Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 will consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi."

"Team 9 is already active and as such will not be listed new members. Team 10 will consist of Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." Ino groans and complains quite loudly about being placed with the "Lazy baka and the fa-". Luckily she stops herself before the Akimichi wrath could be unleashed.

After the teams were listed, each of the senseis begin coming in and gathering their teams. Asuma and Kurenai arrive shortly and grab the other members of the "Rookie 9" as we called ourselves. Then it just becomes me, Naruto, and Sakura.

After one hour Naruto begins to start losing it. He lost interest in sitting down and gets up to wander. He walks around the classroom with a bored look on his face, trying to find something to do. I simply watch him, relishing in the fact that Naruto is alive again. And then comes the possibilities. I could finally become a good teammate like I was supposed to. I could finally become a good friend. I could finally become the family Naruto always wanted. I could finally be his brother.

But how was I going to do that? If I suddenly take interest in Naruto, things would look suspicious. I was a brooding little bastard when I was younger and I could've cared less about Naruto. So what was I going to do?

Then, an idea begins to form. The brain that calls me a genius devises a way to not only connect with Naruto, but Sakura as well. I smirk to myself, then I let my plan begin. I look over at Naruto seemingly in disinterest and I say "What are you doing dobe." _Place the trap._

Naruto glares at me and crosses his arms. "What's it to you teme?" Sakura simply looks between us, suddenly confused on why I am talking to Naruto of all people. She needs to learn to hide her insults better.

In response to Naruto I just say in a disinterested but slightly superior sounding tone "Well, I wanted to help get to know you guys better is all. I'll need to know how to stop a clumsy idiot like yourself and the screeching banshee behind me from getting in my way." _Give the bait._ Naruto growls at the nickname, suddenly looking much more animalistic, and Sakura looks like she was physically struck. I send her some pity, but I need to break that fan girl attitude before things become serious.

Naruto then points a finger at me and shouts "Well I don't want to learn about you teme! I can become Hokage without your help dattebayo!" The old verbal tic nearly takes me off guard and causes me to almost drop my nonchalant expression, but I manage to keep it up. I simply look away from Naruto in disinterest and say "Well, then I guess I won't teach you my secret jutsu I made." _Lure him in._

That instantly catches Naruto's attention. He stares at me in disbelief, seeming to weigh the options of believing me or not. Then, after a few moments, he begins walking over to me slowly. I smirk to myself again and think " _Got him."_

After Naruto sits down next to me, and Sakura leans closer, I begin talking. "Well, before I tell you about the jutsu, I'll need to learn about your elemental affinities." Naruto simply frowns in confusion, no doubt having either skipped that class or slept through it. Sakura, however, looks worried. "But Sasuke-kun, that kind of stuff is for chunins and jonins. We just graduated! We can't do that stuff!"

I simply wave her off, not believing for an instance that they can't do this. "I have been practicing my fire justus for a few years now, before I was genin. What's stopping you from doing it as well? Or are you just afraid?" Sakura looks hurt that I said she was afraid, but then her expression steels suddenly.

"I am not afraid! I was just worried is all. Those are high level techniques." Now there is the Sakura I remember. Sadly, it lasted for just a moment, but a moment was all I needed. Now that I know she's in there somewhere, I'll just need to draw her back, bring out the REAL Sakura.

"Like I said Sakura, I have been doing this for a while. I know what I am doing. Now, luckily for you two idiots, i came prepared for this kind of stuff." Ignoring their retorts at being called idiots, I reach into my kunai bag and pull out some chakra paper. I hand one to each of them, holding one myself.

Naruto stares at the paper in confusion, but Sakura's eyes widen in recognition. I smirk slightly and gesture for her to explain. She beams brightly, but then enters her "lecture mode". "These are chakra papers. When you channel chakra into them they will tell you your chakra nature depending on how the react. If they crumble into dirt, your nature is Earth. If the paper dampens, then your nature is Water. If the paper crumples, then your nature is Lightning. If the paper burns, then your nature is Fire. And if your paper cuts in half, then your nature is Wind."

I simply nod at her, not ready to give more praise. Despite this though, Sakura beams like the sun. Seems even that little bit of praise was enough for her. I look at Sakura and say "Well, since you know so much Sakura, then why don't you go first?" Sakura looks slightly nervous at the prospect of going first, but ultimately agrees.

She channels a light chakra into the paper and watches the results. The paper first crumbles half way, then soaks itself till it begins falling apart in her hands. Sakura looks at the paper in awe, too shocked to do anything else. I nod my head, slightly impressed by the results but ultimately expecting it. "Seems like you have an Earth and an abnormally high Water affinity Sakura. Impressive, considering that two affinities can be rare sometimes." Sakura snaps out of her shock and beams again at the praise. Maybe it's time to rain on her parade before she begins asking me on dates again.

"Alright, me next then." I channel some chakra into the paper and watch the results. My paper first crumples slightly, and then catches on fire and burns. "My affinities are Fire and Lightning, fit for an Uchiha." Time to show the Uchiha pride again. No sense in becoming too nice and ruining the facade. "Your turn dobe."

Naruto scowls at me, but does it anyways. I watch the paper in interest, wondering what Naruto will get. Then I get an odd feeling. It's almost like I can feel Naruto using his chakra. I can normally sense when chakra is used, but this is different. It almost feels like he is using some of my own chakra, but the chakra isn't disappearing. I'll need to investigate this later.

The paper Naruto was holding showed… interesting results. First, his paper splits in half. No surprise there considering how many times Naruto spammed that Rasenshuriken of his. But then one of the halves crumple slightly. The then other bursts into flames so bright we can't even look.

After the flames die down, I look back at the paper. My mouth nearly falls open in shock. The place where the paper was previously was now nothing more than a charred black spot on the table. Naruto looks at the spot in awe, then a grin begins forming. "That's good, right teme?" I can only nod dumbly, not caring how Naruto is jumping around cheering.

How could Naruto have such a strong Fire affinity, and a Lightning affinity on top of that? Naruto only ever used wind jutsus, even after he gained the ability to control all the elements from the Sage of Six Paths. So then what changed? Did Naruto always have this, or did something happen because of me travelling back in time? I guess that's one more thing I'll need to look into.

"Well now, wasn't that an interesting display." The voice I hear simultaneously fills me on happiness and dread. I look over and confirm my fears. Kakashi was standing in the doorway with a seemingly disinterested look, but I knew better. I knew this time more than any other time, because this time, Kakashi was staring directly at me. This won't end well, I just know it.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **Well that took longer than expected. I know how detailed and long Naruto stories can be, so expect longer chapters and a, hopefully, much longer story than NEIAIS. And yes, I will begin using this to shorten my first story's name. Anyways, I just hope you all liked this chapter! I'll try to get another out soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

I knew this plan wouldn't work. Why did I think it would? Just seeing Kakashi stare at me is enough for my blood to run cold. If he takes me to Sarutobi and I get sent to T&I, I'll never be able to fix the timeline!

I know I have no other options if I want the slim possibility of bypassing Kakashi. I steel my features and glare at Kakashi for being late. It's the only thing I can do.

Kakashi stares at me for a while longer, and then his gaze drifts over to the other two next to me. He stares at us for a while longer, assessing the situation. And then, "I am impressed. Using elemental abilities this early is not something normally seen." Naruto begins cheering and shouting he is the best. Now where is it? Oh, there it is. That twinkle in Kakashi's eyes before he shuts you down. He gives us an eye smile and says "Of course, it is also very dangerous. Only an idiot would attempt it without any real knowledge beforehand. Meet me on the roof for introductions." Kakashi then shunshins away, ignoring Naruto's loud outburst of retorts.

I ignore Naruto as well, simply walking up to the roof. Sakura follows close behind and Naruto's ranting drops down to muffled grumbling as he follows as well. We reach the roof and take a seat in front of Kakashi, myself in the middle, and Naruto and Sakura to my right and left respectively.

Kakashi is leaning back with a seemingly bored look on his face, but I can see the subtle tension in his body's posture. The way his eyes look around a little too quickly for it to be a relaxed gaze. And the way he takes subtle glances at me, suppressed suspicion and hostility within his gaze. I try not to flinch when I notice the later.

Kakashi continues to sit there, causing Naruto to fidget next to me. He finally seems to notice us as his eyes widen and he eye smiles. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Well, let's get started, shall we?"

Sakura squirms next to me slightly and says "What do you want us to do." Kakashi levels her with a lazy glare, causing her to squirm some more.

He sighs and says "Well, just introduce yourself. Say your likes, dislikes. Your dreams for the future would be nice." Sakura squirms again. I frown in response, my eyebrows knitting together. I need to boost that confidence.

"Why don't you go first sensei?" Kakashi leans back and seems to think about, then nods. "Alright. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have many likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future? Something that doesn't concern you all."

We all sweatdrop in response. " _As lazy as I remember. That told them nothing."_ Kakashi notices our frustration and just eye smiles in response. He then glances at Naruto and says "Why don't you go blondie." Naruto scowls at the nickname, but compiles anyways.

Naruto plants a thumb on his chest and announces with a large grin "I am Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and tasting all the different types of ramen! I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook ramen. And my dreams for the future is to be the greatest Hokage ever, even better than the Yondaime!"

Kakashi nods at the end of Naruto's speech. I myself am smiling softly. Naruto is just as boisterous and brilliant as I remember. How could I have not seen his value before hand?

I stop smiling and focus my attention back on Kakashi. He levels me with a lazy glare as well, but an unspoken message goes through the gaze. _I know that you aren't who you appear. Humor me._ I sigh mentally and fold my hands, taking on the cold brooding air I was known for. But I won't ever be so distant ever again. So, let's change up my little speech this time.

Without any prompt from Kakashi I say "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have some likes and some dislikes. My dreams for the future aren't dreams but realities, as I will make them happen. They are to kill a certain person." What I say isn't entirely false. I do wish to kill Kaguya, oh how I want to kill her. But I also didn't say that I don't want to kill Itachi either. Lying is not something I will do in front of a jonin, especially one of Kakashi's caliber.

Kakashi nods at the end of my speech, seemingly satisfied. He then looks at Sakura and says "And you pinkie?" Sakura's face turns slightly pink in anger, but she doesn't let it come out. Instead she sits up slightly taller and says "My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes, well, the person I like…" She takes a glance at me and giggles. I almost shiver in disgust. I hate fangirls.

"My d-dreams for the future?" She looks at me again and squeals. I can see Kakashi sweat dropping at her behavior. I myself am finding extreme interest in the clouds. He tilts his head slightly and says "And your dislikes?" Sakura then does a 180 and screams "NARUTO!"

Naruto slumps down in defeat crying anime tears. I myself am taken back at her bipolar behavior. I blink a few times, my Uchiha demeanour gone. I had forgotten that she was this random at this age.

Kakashi himself sweat drops again, and then claps his hands. He eye smiles and says "Well, now that we have introduced ourselves we can do the test." Sakura and Naruto's eyes widen. I just stare impassively. Kakashi raises an eyebrow at my expression.

Sakura then raises her hand and says "But sensei, we already took a test!" Kakashi eye smiles at her and says "Oh Sakura, that was just to weed out the ones that don't have the POTENTIAL of being genin. This test will determine if you will actually be a squad or not." Sakura puts her hand back down shakily. Naruto himself looks at Kakashi with horror in his eyes, right before they steel into pure determination. I myself am not worrying. I know what the test has to offer and I will be able to get the others to follow along. Kakashi's single visible eye narrows at me, but I only barely take notice of it.

Kakashi then looks at all of us and says "The test will be held at 6 AM sharp tomorrow at training ground 7. Don't be late. Also, don't eat breakfast. You might puke." Kakashi eye smiles at my teammates' reactions, then looks at me. "Naruto, Sakura, you may go. Sasuke, come with me." Naruto and Sakura look at me curiously, but leave as instructed. I barely take notice of Naruto's attempts at getting Sakura to date him.

Kakashi's eyes harden into cold steel and he says "Come." I get up and walk over, already knowing that my luck has run out. He grabs my arm when I get close enough and the world disappears in a swirl of leaves.

We reappear outside the Hokage's office. Kakashi grips my arm tightly and enters the room.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi is an old man, but he has experience beyond any person I've ever met. He's lived through all three ninja wars, far more than should be possible for most. I can see that experience now as he assesses me. I can see why they call him the God of Shinobi.

I flinch under that cold and calculating glare.

Hiruzen then looks at Kakashi and says "I can sense the henge, but are you certain he is a spy?" Kakashi shrugs in response. "You can never be too cautious Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nods and then looks at me again. He narrows his eyes slightly and says "It's best if you remove the henge. If you don't, then I will for you." I catch the subtle threat and gulp quietly. I may be a strong ninja in experience, but this body doesn't have my muscle memory. I need to regain my old mastery.

I nod to Hiruzen, saying "I will, but you won't like what you'll find." I ignore Kakashi's glare and I put my hands in the ram seal. "Kai!" My body is enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and then it begins dispersing. When the smoke disperse enough for my face to be seen, Kakashi and Hiruzen gasp and pale rapidly.

Kakashi is staring at me in horror, looking between me and the picture of the Yondaime. Hiruzen's surprise is quickly covered up with an assessing gaze. He knows something more is hidden, I just know it.

Ignoring Kakashi's mental breakdown, Hiruzen says "Well this is certainly unexpected. How long have you had this Sasuke-kun?" I am taken back slightly by the prefix, but I shrug it off. He must be taking on a concerned tone because of this new development. I don't care.

"That's the thing. I have a long story to explain, and you won't like it. But the basic premise is, I am from the future." Hiruzen looks at me like I am insane. Kakashi is still having a mental breakdown, his gaze still switching between the Yondaime and me.

Hiruzen notices this and sighs in exasperation. He takes his pipe out of his mouth and calmly empties it of the ashes. He then lifts in up and cracks it on Kakashi's head. He then puts in more tobacco and lights it with a fire jutsu, ignoring Kakashi's complaints of his head pain. I myself am completely exasperated at how immature adults can be sometimes. But I also find this highly amusing.

Hiruzen lets out of ring of smoke and says "Well, I can put off my work for now. Something like this cannot be passed by. You may start when ready, now that Kakashi isn't staring at a photo like a brain-dead idiot." Kakashi at least has the decency to look ashamed at how he reacted to my appearance.

I myself nod and sit down on a chair in front of Hiruzen's desk. I take a deep breath, and then go into the story of my past, or the future. A future which, under my watch, will never occur again.

* * *

 **And thus begins some of the timeline changes! One thing I will say, is that timeline changes won't happen rapidly, and some things may not change at all in. Time is a fickle thing, but it also snowballs. Changes start small, then build up until they spiral out of control. Just a heads up for you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

After a long half hour of just talking, I finally finish the telling of my past. The entire time Kakashi and Hiruzen simply watch with extreme attention, each of their faces set in grim expressions. Once I finish, Kakashi looks away and looks like he is thinking of something. Hiruzen sits back with a long sigh, suddenly looking less like the shinobi he is feared as and more like the old man he is.

Hiruzen takes a few more puffs out of his pipe, and then he sets it down. He looks at me and says "So this Akatsuki group is after the jinchuriki, you being one yourself now, and if they succeed they will revive not only Konoha's greatest traitor, rivaled only by the Shodaime, but also a vengeful goddess that will destroy the world? I have this right?" I nod. Hiruzen's head falls into his hands and he shakes it slightly. I can't help but notice the slight tremble his hands have at holding his weight. I never realized how fragile the Hokage was becoming.

He sighs again and looks at me again. His face then becomes very serious. "This information is very important. I need to list this as an S-ranked village secret. Anyone beyond us three and people we tell willingly will be executed on the spot if they learn of this. And Sasuke." I bring myself to attention, knowing that this'll be important.

Hiruzen looks me right in the eyes and says "I know that you are experienced, and you may be stronger than the both of us, but I want you to try and stay safe. I also want you to not hide your jinchuriki changes. That is something that you must embrace at some point. Also, if possible, try and train Naruto in being a Jinchuriki. Surely you have some experience in that area being around your Naruto so long?" I nod. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nods as well, then looks over to Kakashi. "Kakashi." He stands to attention as well. "I want you to begin training your team as soon as possible. But do not let this information get in the way of letting them live normally. We should try and keep the timeline as close together as possible without changing it, or else this information may very well become useless." Kakashi nods.

Hiruzen then says "Your job will be to simply keep your team safe and well trained. I suggest not being lazy this time Kakashi and, if possible, maybe let you all live together. That would help in keeping Naruto and Sasuke safe." Kakashi nods. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

I then say "If I may Hokage-sama, I can let them live in the old Uchiha complex. I have room, and I doubt it'll be used for anything else." Hiruzen looks at me, taking the idea in consideration. After a few moments, he nods. "That is a good idea Sasuke-kun."

Hiruzen then smiles wearily and says "Now unless you have any other world bending surprises, I suggest you both get ready for tomorrow. There is a test, no?" Me and Kakashi nod.

Hiruzen nods as well, then waves us off. "Now off with you. I have a paper war to win." Hiruzen then proceeds to start mumbling about multiplying paperwork as he begins his paperwork. I just blink a few times before I leave the Hokage's office.

* * *

I make it down to the street before I hear a shout. I look back and see Kakashi walking briskly towards me. I wait for him to catch up before we continue walking. We walk with each other for a while, not saying anything. That's also when I notice the villagers' glances.

Despite how long the meeting was, it is still only an hour or two before dinner. The villagers have quickly taken notice of my appearance, each of them gossiping and taking not-so-subtle glances at me. But that isn't what caught my interest.

Most of them were also quickly drawing a connection between my new look and Naruto. I heard the phrase 'demon child' too many times. My fists clench in anger at those remarks. How dare they speak of Naruto like that! Maybe I wasn't wrong in hating Konoha the first time.

Kakashi also notices the murmurs, and his posture slumps slightly. My anger subsides slightly as I glance up at him, wondering what is wrong. That's when I notice the guilt covering his eyes. His posture looks as if someone dropped a large weight on his back, and his eyes speak of immeasurable amounts of guilt.

I frown as I take this all in. Has Kakashi always been like this? If so, how did I never notice? Kakashi then seemed to notice that I was looking at him, and he shakes his head. _Later_ the motion says. I nod in response.

We walk in silence for a few more moments before Kakashi suddenly says "You should find Sakura and Naruto. Tell them of the news. I'll get myself ready." I nod in response, suddenly feeling both giddy and upset. I guess it's to be expected. Some of my most precious people are getting another chance at life, one that I can help protect instead of destroying. But I also just told my whole life story to someone else. Reliving those memories was not a pleasant experience.

I shake my head, simply going to do as Kakashi said. Ignore the memories, focus on the task. It's better that way. Better if I ignore the pain.

I make my way down the street, opting to go to Naruto's first. It'll be better if I get him with me when I get Sakura. I'd rather not handle a squealing banshee of a fan girl hearing that she can live with me without some help. I suddenly regret my idea.

I make my way to Naruto's old apartment in no time, taking to the roofs to get there quicker. I drop down in front of the complex and walk inside, going over to Naruto's apartment. I knock on the door, waiting for an answer.

It takes only a few moments before Naruto answers the door. He seemed tense when he did it, but he quickly covers it up with a scowl at me. "What do you want teme?" I resist the urge to make a retort and instead I say "You are coming to live with me. All of Team 7 is."

Naruto raises an eyebrow at me, and then smirks at me. "What, getting too lonely living all high and mighty teme?" My hands close in anger, my teeth grinding. I do flinch though when my elongated canines begin digging into my lips.

Naruto also seemed to notice the changes. His eyes widen and he points at my whisker marks shakily. "T-Teme, where did you get those?"

My anger is rapidly diminished when he asks the question. I let out a sigh, and I look directly into Naruto's eyes. "I am a jinchuriki Naruto." Naruto's head tilts in confusion. "A what?"

I sigh in exasperation at Naruto's stupidity. "It means I have a bijuu inside of me Naruto. I have the Kyuubi."

Of all the reactions I expected with that information, I never expected fear. But in those few moments, I did. Naruto's eyes widen to the point of popping out of his head. His mouth begins quivering and he steps back from me. "B-But there is only one Kyuubi! I hold him!"

My eyebrows furrow as I notice the fear rolling off of Naruto in waves. Why would Naruto be afraid of something like this? He never was afraid of the Kyuubi. But I do have something that should satisfy him. "The Yondaime split the Kyuubi in half. You hold one half, I hold the other."

Of course that wasn't true but I could see Naruto's fear beginning to diminish. But then it was replaced by another type of fear. Naruto shakes slightly and says "I-I said I hold the Kyuubi, didn't I?" I nod.

Naruto rapidly backs himself up into his apartment. His breath is coming in short bursts, and he's clutching his head. I can hear him mumbling to himself, his eyes wide and filled with tears. "No no no no. That was a secret! Why did I say it?"

I normally am not one to concern myself with other people's emotions, but this is NARUTO. It seemed… wrong to see him like this. Channeling the remains of broken compassion, I try and comfort Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto. This isn't that big a deal. I already hold the Kyuubi and I already knew you held him too. Don't get so worked up over something like that." As I speak I place a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto flinches at the contact, but he doesn't move away.

After a few moments Naruto begins calming down. He sniffles lightly and rubs away his tears. He flashes a small smile at me and says "Thanks teme." I smirk at him and respond with "No problem, dobe."

We stay in that position a little longer. Then Naruto gets up and walks over to his moth eaten couch. He sits on in and says "Hey teme." I raise an eyebrow in response. "Yes?"

Naruto's mouth opens, then closes. He seems to be debating something. Then he seems to have it settled and says "Can I tell you something important." I raise an eyebrow at the response, but I nod anyways. In this mood, something important is a big deal.

I sit next to Naruto and say "What did you need to tell me?" Naruto looks away from me and says "How long have you known you had the Kyuubi." I blink a few times at the question, but I then response with "I've known for a while. I never told anyone for obvious reasons." Naruto seems content with the answer, but I also see some betrayal. Why would he feel betrayed.

Then the betrayed look disappears as quickly as it came. Naruto then says "I bet you are wondering why I was so scared when you said you held the Kyuubi?" I nod.

Naruto looks at the wall in front of us and says "I only just found out about the Kyuubi a weak ago. I never knew why everyone in the village hated me, but this told me why. It gave me a reason on the whole problem. It let me begin working towards fixing it."

Naruto then looks down at his hands, tears coming into his eyes. "When you told me that you held the Kyuubi, it felt like it was ripped away from me, that suddenly I really was hated for no reason. That I really had no way of gaining the villagers' respect."

I simply listen to Naruto as he speaks. As he explains the situation he was in, I realize how my news could startle him so much. If someone I knew my whole life came to my house and told me that Itachi was killed by them, I would be at a lost as well. I'm just glad I managed to help.

I get out of my thoughts as Naruto continues. "I've always been hated by the villagers. That hatred seemed to seep into you guys as well, so I could never get a friend. I've been alone my whole life."

Naruto then begins chuckling grimly. "I guess that's why I felt such a connection to you. You lost your whole family, and I never had anyone. I guess I felt that if I could make you not feel alone, then I'd finally have someone for me. We'd look out for eachother, be the family we both lost."

My heart definitely didn't just flutter at what Naruto said. Nope, and you can't prove it.

In all honesty, I feet extremely touched at what Naruto just said. Once again I berate my younger self for not seeing how important Naruto was in my life. But now we have a chance, and we have two more people to include into the picture.

I reach over and put my hand on Naruto's shoulder. I smirk at him as he looks at me. "Well, now you have a chance. Hokage-sama has issued that we live together in my house, along with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. How's that for a family?"

Naruto looks at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. Then, his face breaks into the biggest grin I've ever seen from him. He jumps up with a shout of "YATTA!" and starts celebrating. I chuckle at Naruto's enthusiasm.

Then, I get an evil thought. My smirk turns slightly malicious and I say "Naruto, come here for a second." Naruto stops dancing and rushes over to me, his grin still planted on his face. "What is it Sasuke?"

Just as I thought, Naruto leans a little too close into my face because of his excitement. I smile at Naruto, and then my hand shoots out. Faster than Naruto can react, I begin rubbing a finger across Naruto's whisker marks. Naruto's confusion and surprise fades away into a look of bliss. And to my amusement, Naruto begins purring. His head presses into my hand subconsciencly, and I can't keep the grin off my face.

Naruto then seems to realize what I am doing and jumps back, his face as bright as a cherry. He looks at me with a violated expression, which I frankly deserve, and screams "What the hell Sasuke!"

My smirk widens and I say "I wanted to experiment. It seems I was right." Naruto looks at me in disgust, and then shakes his head. "Forget it Sasuke. Let's just go get Sakura. I'll get my stuff." I nod, look around, and deem that Naruto will take maybe 5 seconds. I leave through the door and wait for him outside.

* * *

Now I know I said that Naruto would take 5 seconds, but that was an exaggeration. I was not prepared for Naruto to walk out the door with two stuffed bags literally 5 seconds later. I decided to not question it.

Walking down the street to Sakura's house, I begin to look around. My hands stuffed in my pockets like I used to, my expression cool, I analyze things without giving myself away. My eyes dart around, picking out the formation of the terrain, possible ambush and hiding spots, the behavior of people and the subtle hints of suppressed ideals and behavior. Amazing what a trained ninja can see. Even greater when one is an Uchiha

I mainly used this ability to gauge the reactions of the villagers. Some had drawn the connection, but what will they think with Naruto right next to me?

For the most part, the villagers just ignored us or glared at Naruto. But quite a few of them looked at me, then Naruto, then me again. The usual praising remarks towards me seemed to be more hesitant than before. For how dumb most people can be, they can catch on quickly.

I for one can completely care less how they think of me. I only care for my family, my NEW family, and that means Team 7 is all I care for. Anyone else can go die in a ditch for all I care.

After a few more minutes of walking we reach Sakura's house. I step up, and I knock on the door. I can hear some shuffling from inside, and then the door is answered by an older man with large, pink hair. If this wasn't Sakura's dad, then I will kick myself.

The man looks at me for a couple seconds before smiling and saying "Oh, Uchiha-sama! What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" I take notice of the way Haruno-san never once looks behind me to Naruto. I can tell this man is no exception to the other villagers.

Ignoring the hatred for now, I say "I came to tell Sakura some news. Hokage's orders." Haruno-san's eyes widen at the last part, and he quickly ushers me inside. Key word, me. When Naruto sees us going inside, he follows us. Haruno-san notices and growls at him and almost slams the door in his face. He would've if not for me catching the door.

Leveling a cold glare on the man, I say "He comes in, or I walk out. Pick one." Haruno-san looks between the door and me a few times before he relents. Naruto strides on in, looking like he has not a care in the world. But I can see the hidden tension within his posture, the way his smile doesn't reach his eyes. I put a comforting hand on his shoulder and lead him into the house.

Haruno-san takes extra care to not look at Naruto and says "Sakura is upstairs in her room. I'll go get her if you want to take a seat." I nod and we go into the living space. I take a seat on the seating cushions, Naruto doing likewise.

After a few moments I can hear noises upstairs, followed by what sounded like a squeal. I have two seconds to prepare before a pink blur slams into my body with a scream of "SASUKE-KUN!" I cringe badly at her volume, my now sensitive hearing not able to handle that kind of yelling. Judging from Naruto's expression, I'm not the only one.

I push Sakura off with a growl. I may hold her closely to me, but not THAT close! I quickly backup to another seat and sit down, glaring at Sakura. Sakura at least has the audacity to blush in embarrassment.

Haruno-san enters in the room and sits down at on one of the seats. He looks at me and says "Alright Uchiha-sama, what's the news?"

I look at him and say "Hokage-sama has issued that all of Team 7 live with me. Sakura will be coming to live at my house within the Uchiha complex."

Sakura and Haruno-san's eyes widen. I can see the delight in Haruno-san's eyes, no doubt loving the fact that his daughter will be living with 'Uchiha-sama'. Sakura, at least, looks uncertain. She is glancing between her father and me, no doubt debating which is better.

Haruno-san also seems to notice and suddenly realizes that his young daughter won't be there with him. He places a hand on her shoulder and says with a calming voice "It's alright Sakura. We'll always be here for you if you need us."

He pulls her into a hug, trying to comfort Sakura. Sakura hugs him tightly, and I am sure I can hear light sniffling from her. The two seperate, Sakura having a few tears in her eyes. She looks at me and says "I'll get my things." She gets up and goes to the stairs. Not one to miss an opportunity, Naruto rushes after her saying that he'll help.

With only me and Haruno-san in the room, he decides to try and start up a conversation. "I can't believe Hokage-sama is letting _him_ live with you two." Ok, not the best way to start a conversation.

I glance at him in seeming disinterest, but my eyes hold an ice colder than any winter within Konoha. "Why do you say that?"

Haruno-san snorts and says "Because he's a damned demon child." I tilt my head in seeming confusion. "Why would he be a demon? He hasn't acted anything but kind and mischievous in all the time I've known him."

Haruno-san simply shakes his head and mumbles out "You have no idea." Luckily for him, Sakura and Naruto come downstairs with a trial of Naruto clones behind them. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. How did Naruto convince Sakura to let him help her. That's when I notice that Sakura is holding nothing and every Naruto, including the real one, is carrying something. Oh, that's why.

I go over to them and usher them outside. Sakura stays behind and gives her father one last hug before he waves her off. She then runs up to us and walks with us. And being the person she is, she begins swooning heads over heels for me. I sigh in exasperation. This'll be a long walk.

* * *

After six agonizingly long minutes, we finally reach the Uchiha complex. We walk through the tall gates and enter the abandoned compound. We walk for a while longer, myself taking the lead.

After a few more moments we reach the clan head's house for the Uchihas. My home. And look, Kakashi is already here. Go figure.

Kakashi looks at us with a bored look, looks at the Naruto clones and says "Why didn't I think of that?" I can tell he honestly believes this as he is carrying a pack on his back, along with two more bags in each hand, each one bulging critically.

Ignoring Kakashi's peril, I lead them all inside. "This is the entry way. Bedrooms are to the left, kitchen is to the right. Bathroom is at the end of the hall and in the master bedroom. Kakashi can have the master bedroom, I have my own room, Naruto and Sakura, just go pick one."

After that I don't bother to see if they heard me. I head into the kitchen, grab a tomato, mentally note to make a restriction on ramen, and walk to my room. Shutting the door behind me, I fall onto my futon. I never realized how tired I was during the day. I guess that I was too busy to notice. I don't dwell on it, and soon fall into a dreamless sleep. Well, dreamless if your own mind isn't a dream.

* * *

 **Oh geez. This was the longest chapter I have written so far. Took me way too long to complete it. But it was enjoyable. Now the time for the Team test is coming soon! But what will change now that Team 7 lives together? Time is fickle, and small things can cause big changes. *Cue evil laugh***


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

My eyes open up slowly, my mind much more clearer than usual when I wake up. I sit up and look around, and I then notice that I'm not in my room anymore. The place around me looked like one massive dojo, training equipment scattered everywhere. I get up and look around in awe. The ceiling seemed to stretch on forever, going so high up that it disappears into the darkness.

That's also when I notice another, yet oddly familiar presence. I look around, trying to find the source, when I notice something different. Behind me is a set of sliding, paper-thin doors. Traditional sets for places like this. Finding no other option, I go out through the doors.

Outside the doors isn't much different, but the wall seem to be much darker out here. The color seemed to be covered in shadows. Along with the sudden color change, the walls also had what looked eerily similar to my Kirin running along the sides.

I continue along the corridor, finding nothing else of interest. After a few moments I reach an intersection. I look at the three different options, trying to figure out which way to go. That's when I notice that the corridor to my right is glowing red. Well, that's comforting. Time to check it out.

After a few more minutes, or what felt like minutes, of walking, I find a large cage. I look at the massive bars in interest, wondering why it is here. Then I notice the oddly shaped lock on the cage. It looked like a massive spiral, holes running along it. My mind racks itself, trying to figure out why this seemed familiar.

Suddenly, a loud and ominous chuckle sounds throughout the area. " **Confused, Uchiha?"**

I tense myself, taking only a passing notice of something feeling different. I look at the cage, certain that is where the voice came from. And shortly after looking, my thoughts are proven true.

Out from the darkness is a large, nine-tailed fox. His fur is a bright orange color, and his face has black markings running down from his ears to his eyes. His eyes are a burning red color, filled to the brim with emotions. But not hate, at least, not towards me.

The giant fox chuckles loudly, his gaze seeming to assess me. I stand up straight again, simply responding with "Kyuubi-sama."

Kyuubi's grin widens as he says " **Don't give me that Uchiha. You know my name, as I gave you the privilege to use it. Now use it as Naruto did before."**

I nod, saying "As you wish, Kurama-sama." Kurama raises a non-existent eyebrow at me using -sama, but ignores it.

Kurama then stretches himself and lays down. He stares at me and says " **So, why are you here?"**

My head tilts in confusion, and that's when I notice something. When my head tilted, so did something on top of my head. My hair isn't long enough, so what… My hand shakily raises up to the top of my head. I feel something fuzzy on top, my hand trying to assess what it is. That's when it clicks.

I look behind myself in a panic, hoping beyond hope that I'm wrong. It seems that I'm not when I see a black, red tipped fox tail swishing behind me.

I look back at Kurama who is simply watching my panic in amusement. I glare at him in barely contained rage. "What. Is. This."

Kurama simply smirks at me and responds with " **That is a byproduct of me being sealed in someone. Normally the seal is strong enough to contain those attributes of us bijuu, but your seal is different. Naruto had to put more effort in keeping you fully functioning than keeping the side effects suppressed. For now you won't experience this in the real world, but it will eventually come to pass. Naruto actually had this happen to himself when the seal was unlocked, but he kept it hidden."**

I continue to glare at Kurama, looking for any deception in his words. I then cross my arms over my chest, my… tail swishing irritatedly behind me. "Why are you telling me this?"

Kurama raises another nonexistent eyebrow at me and says " **Whatever do you mean, Uchiha?"**

My glare intensifies at the orange fox. "You know exactly what I mean Kurama-sama."

Kurama continues to look at me in confusion. He then lets out a loud sigh and says " **I do not hate you Uchiha. Yes, I may dislike you, but you also changed your ways. Not only that but you tried helping Naruto in saving the world."**

Kurama suddenly looks a lot less fierce as a longing look appears on his face. " **I felt your true emotions when Naruto died. Anger, grief, sorrow. But what I felt the strongest, was righteous anger. Anger at how Kaguya treats others. Anger at her killing innocents. You truly changed Uchiha."**

My arms slowly uncross as I listen to what Kurama says. I look at him in disbelief. Did I really feel that way when Kaguya appeared and killed Naruto? No, that can't be right. I'm a killer, a lost avenger. I can't be like that. I can't be like Naruto.

I shake my head at the nine-tailed fox. "No, no way is that right. I can't be like that, not after everything I did."

Kurama once again looks at me in silent confusion, and then he rests his head on his paws again. " **Believe what you wish Uchiha. But know that I can feel negative emotions stronger than any other. Now leave and let me nap."**

Finding that nothing else will be said, I turn around and leave the room. Using the same technique I use to exit the Tsukuyomi, I am able to leave my mind.

* * *

I am still laying on my bed. Why? I know that I don't have to be at the training grounds until 10 because of Kakashi's habits, but I still wanted to get there early. So why am I still laying here?

I know why, but I just can't accept it. What Kurama said shook me more than it should've. Why is it so difficult to see myself as changed? Why can't I see myself with Naruto's morals?

I sigh, bringing a hand down my face. I then bring a hand up to the top of my hand, feeling the two slight bumps signifying where my, ugh, fox ears are hidden. I dread the day those things can't be hidden anymore.

Deciding that I've mused long enough, I get up and quickly change into my normal attire. I grab my shinobi supplies, along with a few extras for training, and leave my room. I look around and too my surprise I find no signs of a mess or anyone leaving. Funny, I thought Naruto would make a mess of everything.

Shrugging it off I go and grab a tomato from my cabinets. Deciding to check on what everyone else is doing, I go to their rooms.

Checking Kakashi's first, I find a large lump on the bed, silver hair sticking out from the covers. I smirk and get a sudden impulse to pull a prank on Kakashi. Huh, maybe pranking had more to do with the Kyu-, Kurama than I thought.

Snickering to myself, I go out and grab some supplies. After a few minutes of set up a perfect prank is made. Oh, Kakashi will never get up late again. Especially after Hokage-sama said not to.

Leaving Kakashi's room I then make my way to Sakura's. I open the door and find Sakura slumbering peacefully on the bed, soft snores filling the room.

I make my way to Sakura silently. I reach the bedside and shake her slightly. "Sakura, time to get up."

Sakura's eyes scrunch up, a soft protest heard from her throat. I can't help but smile at the sweet sound. Maybe I'll have a chance with this Sakura. Mine was gone too soon.

Sakura's eyes then slowly open. She looks at me groggily and croaks out "Tenshi?" I smile more at her obvious delusion and her calling me an angel. I shake my head and respond with "No, but you do need to get up Sakura. It's time to get to the test, remember?"

Sakura tilts her head to the side in slight confusion, then nods. She sits up and stretches, yawning widely. Turning my head away so Sakura can have her privacy, I say "Get ready to go Sakura. I'll get Naruto." I then leave the room.

After walking a few more moments I locate the room Naruto took for himself. I open the door and, what do you know, his stuff is thrown everywhere. Before I get started on Naruto and mine's relationship, I need to teach him some decency. Every shinobi should have some form of finesse.

Naruto himself is sprawled all over the bed. Loud snores echo through the room, just below the annoyance range. Shaking my head at Naruto's obnoxious behavior, even when sleeping, I go over to the bed.

Not wasting any time I use small fire jutsu and send it at Naruto's bottom. Naruto immediately jumps into the air, screaming loudly. He runs around the room, his sleep-fogged mind trying to pinpoint what is hurting him. I simply begin laughing at Naruto's reaction.

After a few more comedic moments of running around in a frenzy, Naruto finally calms down. He rubs his burnt behind, grumbling softly. I only give passing notice to Naruto approaching, so when I am suddenly dogpiled by 5 Narutos, I am completely off guard.

I let out a yelp of surprise as I suddenly feel a large weight on my chest. I grunt and look up at the smirking Naruto. "That's what you get teme."

I look at Naruto with a blank face at first, then I notice something. I smirk as well and say "Well, don't be too confident dobe. You are still in your boxers, burnt ones at that."

Naruto suddenly pales rapidly and looks down, bright blue eyes wide. Sure enough, Naruto is only wearing his boxers. Blushing red like a tomato, Naruto runs behind his bed and screams "TEME! GET OUT!"

The clones dispel all at once and I get up. I flash a frankly fox-like grin at Naruto and say "Get ready for the test dobe. You'll need all the preparation you can get." Ignoring Naruto's protests, I walk out of the room.

* * *

After five minutes both Naruto and Sakura are ready for the test. Although, Naruto doesn't have much.

I eye him up and down and say "Where's the rest of your stuff Naruto?" Naruto scratches the back of his head sheepishly, his grin plastered on his face. "Hehe… I think I left them at my old apartment."

I don't accept that answer one bit. Naruto is using a mask again, and I won't allow it. Looking him dead in the eye I say "Naruto, we both know that is a lie." Seeing Naruto's sudden fear, I soften and say "You don't need to hide it from me, Naruto. I know the truth. We'll get you some more equipment after the test." Thankfully, Naruto nods.

Sakura looks between us, confused at what we are talking about, but then shrugs it off. As we get ready to go to the training grounds, Sakura goes over to me shyly. I take a glance at her as I continue eating my tomato.

After a couple more bites my patience begins getting tested. I finish the bit currently in my mouth and glance at Sakura again. "What is it Sakura?"

Sakura jumps a little my sudden announcing of her presence, but she takes it in stride. "W-Well, I was wondering if you could help me train after the test."

I am about to take another bite when I freeze. I look over at Sakura again, her eyes full of hope. I lower the tomato and say "What brought this on?"

She blushes even brighter but still says "W-Well, I just thought that what you showed us, t-the elements, was really impressive. I want to get better."

I blink a few times, then an O shape forms with my mouth. Mentally I am hopping for joy at this opportunity. And I can hear Kurama laughing in my head. Damn fox.

Outwardly though, I simply nod and say "Yeah, I can help. I showed you those for a reason."

Sakura beams and nearly seems ready to barrel me over. But then the light fades away as she seems to remember something. She looks at me with a nervous look and says "I wanted to ask why you are being so nice all of the sudden. You are usually so distant and cold, but now you seem so… welcoming."

I look at her for a few seconds, then close my eyes. I grimace slightly, but I know I can't avoid this question. Luckily I've had a little while to think about this question. I open my eyes again and say "Let's talk about it on our way to the training ground. No point in wasting anymore time."

Sakura nods and gets up, me following suite. Naruto notices us getting up and quickly scarfs down the rest of his ramen, getting up and joining us afterwards.

It's been a whole minute since we left the house. I'd gauge that it is around 6:30-ish right now. It also has been a whole minute and I still haven't said anything. I close my eyes, run through the false story again, and then open my mouth.

"You guys wanted to know why I am not distant anymore." Both of my companions jump at the sudden appearance of my voice, but nod otherwise. I sigh and start the story.

"To put it shortly, I realized what I was missing. I was thinking about my goals in life and realized that, frankly, they were stupid. What would I do after I completed them? Nothing, that's what. What I had in plan probably would've cut my ties with the village." Both of them gasp, Naruto more angrily and Sakura worriedly.

I show them a small smile though and say "But that isn't gonna happen. I realized what the path I chose would lead to, and believe me when I say it wouldn't be good. So I chose I new path." I look at them and flash a rare grin. The grin is made mischievous and very Naruto-like with the whiskers and slitted pupils. "My new path, is to protect those in my family. And you guys, are my family."

Naruto and Sakura look dumbfounded for a couple moments, before both of their faces light up like a Christmas tree. I can't help but laugh as they both jump on me and hug me tightly. Even the pain of Sakura's strength doesn't ruin the moment.

What does is a loud bang coming from the Uchiha complex. We all look up and see a plume of rainbow colored smoke rising into the sky. We all gaze at it in awe before a scream echoes from the same direction. Knowing exactly just what happened, I grin and tell Naruto and Sakura to follow me. They nod and we all race off to the training grounds.

* * *

 **-Author Notes-**

 **I'm sorry about how long this chapter took to write. I had some school work I needed to get done and it took a while. But now that it is out I should be able to go back to my original schedule.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

We all get to the training grounds much faster than I thought we would. Sakura is almost out of breath, Naruto is completely fine, and I am taking slightly heavier breaths. I take a look at Sakura as I see her breathing heavily. " _I'll need to up that stamina of her's. No way can she survive with such abysmal stamina."_

Putting the thought to the side for now, I then grab their attention. "Ok guys, we have a little time before Kakashi-sensei gets here. In that time, I'ma teach you both a small jutsu for your elements." Smirking slightly at their beaming expressions, I dig into my pouch and search for what I need.

After a little while I manage to find what I want. Pulling out two separate scrolls, one labeled with a wind symbol and another with a red plus sign, I hold them in front of them. "These are the jutsus. The wind labeled one is for Naruto and the red plus sign labeled one is for Sakura. They'll tell you some basic chakra and elemental exercises to learn the jutsu inside. Naruto, don't skip right to the jutsu. All the steps will help you." Naruto grumbles to himself, but they both still nod.

I then shoo them away and turn to a tree. Before seeing what needs improvement, let's see what I have. " _Alright. The_ _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu should be a good test."_ Going through the signs that I've gone through is so simple that I instinctively do it.

 _Tiger-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger._ " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** I put my fingers up to my mouth in a ring shape and blow outwards. The size of the fireball should determine the size of my chakra pool and where my chakra control is out.

As I finish the signs and yell out the name, many familiar things happen at once. First, my chakra begins shaping. My chakra feels like a coolant within my body, something I can mentally direct in specific ways. Then, my chakra begins absorbing the heat within my stomach. Using the extreme heat of my body and stomach acid, my chakra becomes superheated. Finally is the best part. My chakra rushes to my throat, some unheated chakra protecting my insides from the superheated chakra. Then, a glorious spectacle happens.

The chakra reaches my mouth and is sent flying outwards. I keep sending the chakra out, spinning my breath so I can spin the superheated chakra flames. I continue spinning the flames until I find it at a level I would use in combat. I stop spinning my breath and blow, using some chakra to enhance the blowing. The result? My fireball blasts forwards in a huge burst of speed. And this all happened within one second. Crazy, right?

As I look on at my results, I am honestly impressed. The fireball came out to be the size of a small house, something that is quite impressive. Considering my body right now, I wonder why it was so much better than I thought it would be.

" **Why, it would be because of me, of course."**

My senses instantly switch into combat gear, my posture switching from relaxed to tense. I look around, wondering who said that. My answer comes in the form of a certain nine-tailed fox laughing within my head. Grumbling to myself, I say " _What do you want Kurama-sama?"_

Kurama continues laughing, but is still able to answer. " **Well Uchiha, I wanted to say that you got some benefits of me being in here. Along with every jinchuriki's normally enhanced chakra reserves, you also have my healing, extreme fire affinity, and something that is coming in quite soon."**

I tilt my head at that last part, and I then get an extreme sense of deja vu. Almost instantly recognizing where it came from, I reach up and touch my head again. I quickly find the spots where my, still not used to it, fox ears are hidden. But what I find there makes me pale in worry.

The previously small bumps have become pointed and much larger, a softer version of my hair growing on them. I know they still aren't discernable with my hair as it is, but it will be soon.

I can feel my face brighten slightly in embarrassment, and I look at Naruto and Sakura to see if they notices my odd actions. Luckily, neither of them have deterred from their training. Even Sakura is concentrating, and I am honestly a little surprised.

I can still hear Kurama chuckling inside my head, so I redirect my attention to him. " _Was there anything else you needed to say Kurama-sama?"_ Kurama chuckles a little more, but I can sense his negative response.

Once I can feel Kurama retreat from my mind, I look for the sun. It seemed to be a little ways above the horizon now, and since it is summer, it is probably around 8 am. 2 hours past what was scheduled Kakashi.

Then a sudden puff of smoke appears in the middle of the training ground. Each of us look at the smoke curiously, but also cautiously. I see that Naruto has a kunai out in a defensive position and Sakura is in the academy fighting stance. I myself have my hands in the tiger hand seal, ready to make a fireball if needed.

When the smoke clears away and we see who it is, we all ease up and relax. It was just Kakashi arriving, him giving us an eye smile and salute. And then Sakura seems to realise something. Once she takes a deep breath, my eyes widen in horror.

" **YOU'RE LATE!"** Everyone covers their ears in pain as Sakura screeches. Each of us have enhanced hearing for one reason or another, and Sakura is already unbearably loud. So in essence, each of us were on the verge of bleeding in both ears.

I reopen my eyes and can see Sakura with a single fist in front of her face. Now was it just me, or was that a red aura around her? My face pales when the aura doesn't go away, my mouth in a nervous smile. Note to self, don't anger Sakura.

Kakashi's lone eye is comically wide and pure white, steam rolling out of his ears. Naruto simply has his ears covered, a grimace on his face. Sakura's anger seems to lower slightly, due to that creepy aura disappearing, and she notices what each of us are doing. She blushes and gasps in embarrassment. She then chuckles sheepishly.

Kakashi gets out of his trance and rubs his ears, saying "Well now that Sakura got that out of her system, why don't we get this test underway?"

Regaining his cool composure, Kakashi whips out two familiar bells. They both ring as Kakashi shakes them around. He looks at each of us and says "Now we may be a team, but this test is still important. I can use it to learn a variety of things, and your results may determine where we start in training."

Sakura has a determined and focused face on, and Naruto looks serious for once. I don't know what I did, but something changed in the two of them. I look back to Kakashi as he continues explaining the test.

"Now you see these two bells." Kakashi jingles them some more for assurance. "I will have these on my belt. Your job is to get at least one from me. Anyone who doesn't get a bell will be strapped to a post while we eat lunch." Cue the eye smile.

Kakashi waits for a while, leading to an awkward silence. When nothing continues to happen, Kakashi's eye narrows and he says "You ate breakfast, didn't you?" Sakura and Naruto's eyes shift nervously, but I am able to take the initiative. "Why would we not eat breakfast? Any lost chance at food would only hurt us. Nothing can be gained from not eating and losing energy."

Kakashi's lone eye looks at me for a few moments, but then he nods in acceptance. "Good response. Take that as a lesson. Don't expect everything you hear to be true. If you know you can get by better with an alternative, don't be afraid to use it."

Kakashi then straps the bells to his belt and puts his hands in his pocket. Looking at us lazily, he says "Alright. The test begins… now." The second he says now, each of us disappear into the bushes with a burst of speed.

I myself went to Kakashi's left side, observing him from behind the cover. " _I can't beat him one on one, no matter how much experience I have. I'll need to get Naruto and Sakura to help me. Besides, that's what the test is for, right?"_ I begin forming a plan in my head, when a sudden voice shouts out.

"HEY KAKASHI-SENSEI!" My gaze snaps to the left and I sigh in exasperation. Naruto is out in the open, pointing a finger at Kakashi challengingly. " _Naruto, you idiot. Well, you got yourself into this mess. I ain't getting you out."_ I instead sit back and observe, seeing if Naruto can do anything differently this time.

Kakashi looks to be as exasperated as I am. I can see the sweat drop on his head, and he must be wondering what Naruto is doing. Wait, no, scratch that. He is just wondering how Naruto can be such an idiot.

I watch as Naruto boasts some more, laughing at Kakashi and daring him to attack him. Kakashi sighs to himself but still doesn't move. Naruto waits a few more moments, and then his patience gets the better of him.

Naruto puts his hands into the cross hand sign and summons an army of about 20 narutos. He then charges at Kakashi, each of his clones following behind. He tries to bombard Kakashi with pure numbers, but it doesn't work. Kakashi is able to take each clone out with ease, the real Naruto now far away. He must've gotten there in the confusion of the fight.

Naruto is looking at Kakashi with a calculating gaze, then scowls. Suddenly, Naruto jumps back into the bushes. I blink in surprise as Naruto moves in my direction. I watch him land next to me and I can't help but be surprised. I didn't expect Naruto to retreat like that.

Naruto then glances at me and says "Teme, I need your help. I can't beat him by myself." I blink a few more times in shock, my head nodding dumbly. Naruto seems to notice the odd reaction and waves a hand in front of my face. "Teme?"

I finally notice what is happening and snap back into reality. Shaking my head, I say "Sorry, I spaced out. But yeah, I can help. But I think we should get Sakura too." Naruto nods in agreement and we both take off to find her. I can't help but smile to myself as we travel. Things are moving smoothly between each of us. I am just certain that we can have a better future now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I close my eyes once more, sending out a silent pulse of chakra. Naruto glances around each time I do it, but luckily he can't pinpoint the chakra wave's source. I feel as my chakra pushes out wards in a smooth sphere around me. I concentrate as hard as I can as I search for Sakura's chakra.

Then suddenly, an intrusion appears in the sphere. It is much larger than the other systems of chakra, and it also feels relatively weak. I am sure it is Sakura.

Snapping my gaze open, I look in Sakura's direction and say "This way Naruto. I think I found her." I turn mid air and begin bounding off towards Sakura after I land, Naruto close behind.

It takes only a few seconds for us to reach Sakura's location. And I have to rethink something. I guess we did know tree hopping this early. Must've forgotten. Wonder, are there any other important details that I forgot? That could dangerous if I did.

Naruto and I jump down from the trees, landing quietly next to Sakura. She jumps back in surprise and caution, but luckily she doesn't yell out. I look at her and say "Sakura, we need your help. We can't take Kakashi on by ourselves. We need to work together."

Sakura processes what I have to say, then nods. I smile back in reply. She beams, but she also says something. "I can help build traps. It was my best area other than knowledge!" I nod and say "Alright, let's go." We jump off, ready to develop a plan to beat Kakashi.

 **-3rd Person View-**

Kakashi looks around once more as he watches for his new students. He still sees no sign of them, and silently gives them praise. " _Always good for a ninja to wait for the right opportunity. No use in simply rushing in when you have the time."_

Kakashi glances at the sun's position once more. " _Close to 11. They have about an hour left. Wonder what they'll do."_ Kakashi would get his answer sooner than he likes.

Suddenly, a foreign presence hits Kakashi's senses. Ducking down without thinking, he easily dodges the stray kunai that was launched at him. " _Attacking me while I am thinking. Clever, but it doesn't work on me."_

Kakashi's eyes then widen as he feels 2 more kunai coming from the opposite direction. He jumps upwards on all fours to avoid the kunai. But, this left him in a prime position for a trap.

Now in midair with no way of avoiding anything easily, Kakashi realizes his mistake. His lone eye opens wide as he hears four poofs of smoke, and suddenly four Narutos appear above him. The each are holding a corner of a net, and are heading straight for Kakashi!

Thinking quickly, Kakashi maneuvers his body so he is facing upwards. Doing a few quick hand signs, Kakashi then lets loose a large fireball. " **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** The fireball quickly overtakes the four Naruto, incinerating them and the net.

But nothing seems to let Kakashi have a break, as each of his students jump out of the bushes and rush at him. While falling will be hard enough to maneuver, him facing upwards was the key to completely denying his escape.

Each of his students jump at him and reach for a bell. Kakashi's eye grows wide in horror as he sees each of his students about to get the bells. And then, Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke.

Without anything to halt their rush, each of the ninja-wannabes are on a course of destruction. Each of them only have time to widen their eyes before they slam into each other. All three of them land in a comical lump on the ground, stars in their eyes.

Sasuke is the first to recover, rubbing his head in pain. " _Man, Naruto's head is harder than the Rashomon."_ Sasuke looks around, trying to find where his teacher went. His gaze moves back to the other two though when he hears a loud groan of pain.

Sakura is next to recover, and she also rubs her head in pain. She then looks up and notices that Naruto is on top of her. Screaming in embarrassment, she quickly squirms out from underneath Naruto and hops on her feet. Sasuke simply sweatdrops.

Suddenly a loud bell is heard. Sakura looks around in curiosity while Sasuke curses. " _Damn. That's the alarm going off. We ran out of time."_ Kakashi then appears in a puff of smoke, his eye smile in place.

"Well done you three. That was the best performance I have ever seen from new genin. In fact, you three were the closest to getting a bell out of any team." Despite not really having any reason to, Sasuke still feels a sense of pride at Kakashi's words. Sakura is also beaming like she usually does.

That's also when Kakashi notices Naruto. He looks at Naruto as he stumbles back up, swaying like a drunk. He looks at Kakashi and says "H-Hey you! W-Where did m-my sensei run off t-to?" Kakashi blinks a few time, very confused. Then he gets a devious idea.

Putting his eye into a smile, he says "Oh he went that way." Kakashi then crosses his arms, both of his hands pointing in opposite directions. Naruto looks at the directions for a bit, looks both ways, then grins. "T-Thanks man!" He takes a step forwards, then falls flat on his face.

Silence echoes around the area as Naruto falls to the ground. Kakashi is blinking rapidly, extremely confused, while Sakura is simply staring. Then, a noise breaks the silence. Laughter.

Sakura and Kakashi look over to Sasuke as he doubles over laughing, his face streaming with tears. The laugh is contagious, and soon Kakashi and Sakura are laughing as well.

After a few minutes of laughing, it dies down. Each of them are chuckling to themselves while Naruto finally recovers completely. He rubs his head and says "Ugh…. what happened?" Everyone just chuckles at him.

He looks around confused, then throws out his arms in a bewildered manner. "What?! What are you laughing at?!" Each person is straining to keep in their laughter, Naruto's behavior reigniting the humor.

Naruto then just throws his arms in the air with an exaggerated noise of anger. Kakashi begins reeling himself back in and says "A-Alright everyone. You all did really well, as I said. So well in fact, the I'll treat you all to lunch."

Naruto instantly does a 180 and begins jumping for joy, screaming "ICHIRAKU'S! ICHIRAKU'S!"

Sakura looks happy, and Sasuke is just smirking to himself.

Kakashi then eye smiles and says "No no no, Naruto, Ichiraku's. We are going to the "Golden Leaf", the finest restaurant in the village. I'd say it is a worthy celebration of our team's formation, right." But to himself, Kakashi thinks, " _Sensei did this for us when we formed a team. I'll keep the tradition going."_

Sasuke smiles in delight, and Sakura is going crazy over going to such a fancy restaurant. Naruto, however, looks less than pleased. In fact, he even looked nervous. Kakashi notices the look and says "Something wrong, Naruto?" Naruto just shakes his head, closing his eyes and smiling. "Nope, nothing is wrong sensei."

Kakashi eye smiles back, then says "Alright, to the Golden Leaf it is." Sakura cheers and Sasuke follows with a small smile. Naruto's grin falters, then drops completely when no one is looking. "G-Great…"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Something was up. The entire way to the Golden Leaf, Naruto was oddly silent. Something was not right here.

I knew for a fact it wasn't the villagers. Even with their scornful looks and hateful comments, Naruto always kept a smile on his face. I wasn't sure if that was admirable… or dangerous.

Now though, he was silent. He had a small smile, easily keeping up with us. The giveaways was his tense posture, and his lack of chatting. Anywhere else Naruto would be running his mouth about ramen, being Hokage, or even his training. Now… not a word was being spoken.

Falling back a bit from Sakura and Kakashi, I begin to walk next to Naruto. I look at him with an ever-so-slightly concerned expression and say "Naruto, something wrong?"

The blond-haired genin looks at me with an odd expression, which disappears as quickly as it appeared. He smiles widely and says "No, nothing is wrong."

I frown at the blatant lie I was just told. "Naruto, you can tell me, remember? I already know."

Naruto's smile falters for just a second. He tries to put it back, but I had already seen it. He notices my look and knew he was busted. He sighs, then says "This restaurant, the 'Golden Leaf' or whatever, they won't let me in. Nowhere will."

Mentally, I was a little surprised. He even wasn't admitted access to places?! Not destroying Konoha is feeling more and more like a mistake. I look at him with a barely concealed expression of anger. "And why not?!"

Naruto looks down at his stomach, and I instantly deduce why. "The Kyuubi?" Naruto nods.

"With that damn fox in there, I can't go anywhere. People think I'm a demon." Naruto turns up to me with another odd look. "I'm not a demon, right Sasuke?"

I was not ready for that. The statement completely caught me off guard. I blink a few times, processing the words. When I do, I chuckle lightly and say "No, of course not! You aren't a demon in any way Naruto!"

What I didn't know at the time was that this was a turning point. That question meant more to him than I had realized, but I had given the right answer. With an expression of pure relief, Naruto grins. And this wasn't a fake grin. This was genuine. "Thanks Sasuke. I needed that."

I grin in response, patting Naruto a little too hard on the back, making the genin stumble forwards with a grunt. Grin growing in response, I say "No problem. And if there is any sort of denial for your entry, I'll let them know what 'Uchiha-sama' can do."

With that, we walk back up to Kakashi and Sakura. Now that Naruto's spirits were bolstered, he was chatting away like normal. Kakashi was viewing him with an eye smile, somehow still navigating the village like it was nothing. Even Sakura, known for being annoyed by the slightest thing related to Naruto, was happy to hear his voice. It was too odd to hear the loud-mouthed knucklehead not speaking.

After a few more minutes of pleasant chatting, we finally reach the Golden Leaf. Kakashi and Sakura stroll right in, but me and Naruto hesitate. I turn to Naruto and say "Ready?" Naruto nods and we walk inside.

The entryway was a very nice design. It had a red carpet up to the stand that held menus, silverware, and other items. A single man, well dressed and smiling, was standing there. Beyond him was the dining room. A couple chandeliers, gold and green carpet, tables for formal occasions and booths for those just coming to eat, like us.

The waiter's smile widens as he recognizes the man that just walked in. "Ah, Kakashi-sama! What an honor to have you come. Will it be the two as usual?"

Kakashi shakes his head and says "No no, I have more than two." Gesturing to us all, he continues. "My newly formed genin team would like to eat in with me."

The waiter looks at us, seeming to examine us. His eyes land on Naruto and my own eyes narrow, waiting for a nasty response. Instead, the waiter's eyes just continue to Sakura.

I blink in surprise, not expecting that at all. I look to Naruto, who is similarly confused. He suddenly grins though and pumps his fist in victory. I smile lightly at that.

The waiter grabs some menus and gestures to the dining room with a smile. "Would you like a table or booth?"

Kakashi gestures to a random booth and says "Booth is fine." The waiter nods and leads us into the dining room.

Within the few moments it took us to arrive at our seats, people had already noticed us. Some were in awe that Kakashi Hatake, the famous copy ninja, was here. Others were once again curious about my new looks. Most, however, looked at Naruto. And these weren't good looks. They were filled with more hatred than I had ever seen.

" **They are blinded by knowledge they do not possess."** I raise an eyebrow at the sudden statement by Kurama. " _What do you mean?"_

" **The people here, their hate is not genuine. It is a product of misinformation, and a lack of sealing knowledge. They do not understand how sealing works, and as such, believe Naruto IS me, not containing me."**

I look around, thinking about the statement. It did seem to make sense, but it doesn't reduce the anger I felt from the people being so quick to judge.

After the short conversation with Kurama, we got to our seat. We all sit down, Kakashi and Sakura on one side, me and Naruto on the other. We get our menus and order drinks. Things seemed to be going well.

"KAKASHI!" That loud, boisterous voice. It couldn't be. One look at Kakashi's face told me otherwise.

A blur of green appears in my vision, and suddenly a man is there. That green onesie, the enormous eyebrows, the bowl cut hair, and the sharp jawline. There was no doubt about it. It was Might Gai, back from the dead.

Gai, gigantic grin in place, wraps an arm around Kakashi's neck in a friendly manner. "My friend, your flame of youth burns brightly today!"

Gai turns to us, and he says "Ah! A few genin, and the magic number of three. Don't tell me Kakashi. You got a team finally, didn't you!"

Kakashi sighs in exasperation. "How observant of you Gai." As this goes on, I notice three more people approaching us.

The first looked practically identical to Gai, except the smaller eyebrows and rounded eyes. The second was a girl with twin buns in her hair. And the third had milk-white eyes and a formal looking kimono. This was team 10, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji Hyuga.

Lee approaches us with that strange frown in place. He suddenly bows deeply and says "I am honored to meet another team of genin. My name is Rock Lee!"

Tenten looks at her teammate with a look of exasperation and says "Lee, no need to be so formal!" Lee looks up at his teammate with a confused expression, then nods. He straightens himself back up, but now with a less tense posture.

Tenten turns to us with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him, he just gets a little too excited."

I wave her off, noticing that Kakashi was too busy messing with Gai to speak with us. "No problem in it."

Lee suddenly locks eyes with me and I blink in surprise. Lee's gaze hardens, but that is about it. "You are Sasuke Uchiha, correct?"

I look at Lee with an odd look, nodding slowly. "Yes… I am Sasuke Uchiha. Why?" I am getting a bad feeling from this.

Lee seems to breathe out a slight sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was uncertain with those marks on your face, but now I can ask. Would you please fight me?!"

I look at Lee oddly again, then at the restaurant. "Well… maybe now isn't the best time for that…"

Lee looked ready to try again, but Gai suddenly steps in. "Lee, I already told you this. There is a place for our YOUTHFUL ENERGY, and a place to calm down and relax. This place is a place to relax, alright?"

Lee turns to Gai, then bows deeply. "Of course Gai-sensei! I am very sorry for my mistake! As a punishment, I will go around the Golden Leaf one thousand times on my pinkie!"

Gai grins, flashing a thumbs up at the absurd statement. Us? We are all confused and very weirded out. Even me, and I know this would happen. Gai then says "Great choice Lee, but let's do it after we rest our stomachs." Lee nods and straightens up again.

Gai turns to Kakashi with a calmer smile and says "We were just about to leave Kakashi. Nice seeing you." Kakashi nods and waves the team off.

I watched them on their way out, curious if there were any changes. And then, I notice him. Neji Hyuga, prodigy in his own right, was staring right at me. Eyes narrowed and posture tense, I knew this wasn't a friendly look. He was out for me, and I didn't like that one bit.

Fighting a Byakugan user without the Sharingan would be tough. I'll need to see if I have the Sharingan still after this. That would be useful.

Filing the thought to the back of my head for later, I turn back to my companions. At this point, the waiter had come back and asked us for our food. We all say our orders, with Naruto being the most excited. I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

After that, we all turn back to conversation. Me, being who I am, just began to tune it out and look around. They were just talking about Gai, Lee, and their huge eyebrows anyways.

The place really was nice, and quite fancy too. There was a lot of people, so it was definitely a popular restaurant. The people were interesting. I could see some ninja around, eating and chatting away without a care in the world. And then there were the civilians. They were eyeing us from time to time, but never out right speaking. I could see their scorn for Naruto, but also their restraint. I could at least thank them for that, if thanks was even the right word.

I eventually got bored of just looking around and tried activating my Sharingan. I stare at the table, my vision going blurry as I concentrate on the chakra within my brain. It retained my memories, so I should have kept the physical changes too, right?

Searching very carefully within the chakra running through my head, I try to find the special Uchiha chakra that activates my Sharingan. I frown in frustration as I can't seem to find it anywhere.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" My search is suddenly halted as I hear Naruto speak. I blink, then look up. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were all looking at me oddly.

I blink again, then say "I was looking for my Sharingan." Naruto and Sakura look at me with confused looks, but Kakashi looks at me with understanding within seconds.

Naruto was the first to voice the question though. "What is a Sharingan?"

Kakashi turns to Naruto and says "It's a dojutsu, a very special one at that."

Naruto turns to Kakashi with a slightly disgusted look. "Dojutsu? Eye techniques?!"

Kakashi scratches his head, looking upwards in thought. "Well… yes, but… actually no. It is a little more than that."

He turns himself slightly so he can view all three of us at the same time. "The Sharingan is a special kekkei genkai that appears within the Uchiha clan. It is a red eye with one, two, or three tomoe in its irises. It can be turned on and off, and as such, you never really know when an Uchiha has the Sharingan or not."

Kakashi then begins listing the abilities of my clan's eye. "The Sharingan has two main abilities. The eye of insight, and the eye of hypnotism. The eye of insight lets the user copy ninjutsu on sight if physically capable, and predict future attacks from enemies based on muscle movement. The eye of hypnotism lets the user put the enemy into subtle genjutsus, letting them somewhat control the enemy's perception of things around them with eye contact alone."

Sakura was staring at Kakashi intensely, absorbing the lesson like a sponge. Naruto just seemed to be in awe at what he just heard. Kakashi turns to me and eye smiles. "But you already know that, right Sasuke?" I nod my head.

Kakashi reopens his eye, then says "Ah! Our food is coming." We all turn and see the waiter coming back with some trays of food. He places our orders all in front of us, then departs. Each of us tired and eager to eat after the test, we all instantly dig in.

At first, things were fine. We would stop eating at points to talk to each other, some of us continuing to eat while listening. It all seemed fine.

Then, suddenly, Naruto gasps loudly. He grits his teeth, eyes shut tight, and grips his stomach tightly. I instantly stop eating and look at him in concern. "Naruto?"

Naruto doesn't respond, just groaning in pain. And then he falls off his seat. Sakura's eyes widen and Kakashi instantly goes tense. Rushing to Naruto, the jonin tries to help him.

I… I am still. Speechless. Naruto is on the ground, writhing in pain. Why. Why why why _why!_ What is this?! WHO did this?!

Seeing Naruto in pain is enough to just shut off all my brain functions. I must have some PTSD or something, but I couldn't move. I could only see Naruto in pain.

Kakashi must've gotten everything in control because next thing I know Naruto is standing up just fine. Kakashi is observing him like a hawk, will I am still there just starring.

Kakashi turns around, tilting his head at me. I notice the look, then blink. I shake my head, gritting my teeth tightly. I could see the look, what it meant. _Why are you just staring?_

Damn it! I am a professional ninja for Kami's sake! Why did I just freeze up. It had to have been my Naruto's death. It's still fresh in my mind, burning me up inside.

I look back up and notice Kakashi examining Naruto's food. I raise an eyebrow at that, wondering what he was doing, when Kakashi suddenly says "It's poisoned."

Everyone nearby just goes silent. The ninja instantly get up and look around, seeing if there was an intruder. The civilians all looked worried, wondering if they were going to be next.

Kakashi turns to a nearby worker and says "Please bring me the cook that prepared our food and the waiter who served us." The waiter nods and quickly runs off.

I… didn't know what to think. Poison? In Naruto's food? This can't be good, and I am already drawing conclusions. Some… DAMN bastard tried to POISON Naruto!

" **Calm yourself Uchiha. You are dangerously close to releasing my chakra."** I blink again, regaining my senses. I look down and realized I had my fists clenched tightly to the point of drawing blood.

I suddenly hear a gasp and look up. The cook is standing there, looking shocked, while the waiter seems similarly confused. Confusion and shock isn't good for their cases.

The cook and waiter walk forwards slowly, as if afraid of us. The other worker doesn't even stick around and instantly walks away.

Kakashi narrows his eyes at the two workers and says "One plate of food was poisoned. Do you know who did it?"

The cook gulps slightly, sweating bullets. "I-I-I-I have no idea K-K-Kakashi-sama."

Kakashi narrows his eyes at the cook. I could tell why. The lie just told was so obvious, a civilian could tell it wasn't true.

I for one just glare at the man. He turns to me and flinches back. A glare from an angry Uchiha is no joke.

Kakashi turns to the waiter and says "So, do you know who poisoned the food?"

The waiter shakes his head rapidly, then says "I have no idea who poisoned the blond kid's food."

That was it, I knew it. Kakashi's eyes steel dangerously as he says "I never once mentioned who's food it was."

The waiter and cook look at Kakashi in complete and utter shock. The waiter went pale, realizing he had been caught not only committing a crime, but lying to a famous jonin.

The man just begins stuttering like crazy, trying and failing to regain some sense. He looks at Naruto, then says the worst possible thing he could've said. "B-B-But, it was f-for the demon brat!"

At that, something snapped in me. My cool feel away, revealing the burning anger I had. This man had the AUDACITY to try and HURT Naruto, and then calls him a DEMON BRAT?!

I spring over the table with ease, not even thinking about my actions. My gaze cold and hard, I glare right into the man's eyes, had gripped tightly on his wrist. He shivers in fear, right as I speak. "If you ever call Naruto a demon brat, demon child, or anything of the sort again, I will PERSONALLY make your life a living hell. Got it, bastard?"

The man looked like he was ready to shit himself, which was what I wanted. If he had any brains, he'd stay away from Naruto.

I notice Kakashi stepping up and step back from the man. My sensei glares at the two and say "Poisoning of Konoha ninja. This could be seen as an act of treason. As such, you two are going to be detained as a proper punishment is sorted out."

The two workers can only look at Kakashi with complete and utter disbelief. They were so shocked that Kakashi had no resistance in getting the cuffs on them. He turns to us with an apologetic look and says "Sorry guys, but this needs to be dealt with. You are dismissed." With that, Kakashi body flickers away with the two criminals.

With them out of sight, the rage burning in me seemed to simmer down somewhat. I breathe out deeply, unclenching my fists. I know I may not have said it much, but I was PISSED with how the guy spoke to Naruto. Sent back in time, spent only two days here, and already someone is trying to kill him. This is going to go over badly at some point, I just know it.

With Kakashi gone, we were kind of stuck with what to do. At least he paid the bill on his way out, so that doesn't fall on me. I really was a bit stumped as to what to do know.

I suddenly remember what Sakura had asked from me before the test. Deciding now is the best time, I turn to her and say "Hey Sakura."

She looks at me with a curious expression and I say "You asked for me to train you after the test, right?"

Sakura's eyes widen, and she nods eagerly. I smile slightly and say "Why don't we go do that?" Her eager smile turns into a gigawatt Naruto grin so suddenly that it made me laugh a little.

I look over to Naruto and say "Want to join us Naruto?" The blond haired genin's own eyes widen, and then he nods. With that, the three of us get up and leave the restaurant to go train.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **Well THIS was a chapter in the making! Also, the story isn't dead! YAY! I am in no way quitting this story. It just... may take a little longer than my first two because of the first person view. I didn't expect Sasuke to be so difficult to write in first person...**

 **Either way, I am still writing** ** _Sasuke._** **And sorry if the chapter sounded a bit iffy on details. I lost some of my writing 'mojo', in a sense, from my break. Hopefully it will improve as I begin writing again. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I have to say, seeing someone get poisoned isn't a fun experience. Naruto was very quiet about the whole ordeal, shrugging it off and changing the subject. I knew why too. Kurama was the one that saved him, but Naruto was still afraid of speaking about him, especially around Sakura.

So, the trip to the training grounds turned into Naruto babbling along while Sakura and I just listened. We were worried, sure, but couldn't do anything unless Naruto let us.

Once we arrived at training ground 3, we went straight to the center and sat down, making a small circle with our bodies. I look at Naruto and Sakura and say "Alright, I can help you guys with your elemental affinities."

I look at Sakura and say "Sakura, you have that scroll I gave you?" She nods and pulls out the scroll. I gesture for her to hand it over, and she does.

I spread the scroll out and say "Due to your high chakra control and natural water affinity, I thought that medical ninjutsu would fit best for you Sakura."

I glance up at her, seeing her nod. I smile slightly when I see her focusing, not gushing over me. Things are changing, ever so slowly. This is very good.

Getting out of my thoughts, I then say "As long as you do the exercises to their fullest, you should be able to do it with some ease. The only tip I can give you is to build up your chakra."

I look her square in the eyes and say "So that means no more diet! You need to eat a lot in this carrier!"

She looked absolutely appalled that I would suggest something like that. "But Sasuke, I need to stay skinny for y-" She cut off right at the end, but I knew exactly what she was going to say.

I put up a finger and say "Sakura, you are going to be exercising all the time, be it training or missions. Not eating will only be detrimental to your success."

Sakura looked ready to refute, but stops when I grab her arm gently. "Just trust me on this."

She closes her mouth, looking down in thought. She nods slowly, then says "Ok Sasuke…"

I smile and say "There we go. Why don't you go practice? If you need any help, just ask." She nods, then gets up and moves away.

I turn to Naruto next and say "You have the scroll I gave you?" He nods and hands it to me the same way Sakura did.

Opening up his scroll, I say "Your's is simply the Wind Style: Gale Palm. Since you have so much chakra, I feel like this was a good technique. And remember Naruto, use EVERY exercise in there! It will make the end result much easier."

He grumbles about having to do so much work, but nods. I am about to give the scroll back, when I suddenly remember something about Naruto. The main technique that made him famous. I look at him and say "Naruto, those clones you used against Kakashi, were they Shadow Clones?"

He looks at me oddly, then nods. I grin and say "Alright, that can make your training go by much faster. Those clones transfer the knowledge they get to you."

Naruto tilts his head in confusion, when it suddenly dawns on him. He grins widely and jumps into the air with a "YATTA!"

He instantly grabs the scroll and runs off, wasting no time in forming a bunch of clones and doing the exercises in the scroll. I shake my head in exasperation, then decide to do some training of my own. I sit with my legs crossed, put my hands in a relaxed position, and then begin.

" **Don't tell me you are trying to become a sage Uchiha."** One of my eyes twitch while still closed, and I mentally reply. " _Become a sage? No, not now at least. For now, I need my Sharingan."_

Kurama snorts and says " **Well, have fun then. I am going to sleep."** My eye twitches again at the laziness in his tone. How can the most powerful bijuu just sleep all the time?

Anyways, back to normal. For now, I needed to find my Sharingan. I once again probe my mind with my chakra, searching for the special Uchiha chakra that controls the Sharingan. It felt a lot hotter than my normal chakra when I use it, so just where is it?

I kept moving slowly, looking for even the slightest abnormalities. My eyebrows furrow and my eyes tighten as I still can't seem to find anything. Just as I believe I'll have to reawaken the Sharingan, I feel it. A slight, very tiny, shift in the temperature of chakra.

Almost instantly I move my probing towards it, grasping onto the heated chakra. I smirk slightly to myself as I recognize it for what it was. This was it. Releasing the previous chakra I was using, I grab hold of the heated chakra and move it to my eyes.

Now, when an Uchiha activates a Sharingan, a few things happen. First, the special chakra makes a heat behind the eyes. It isn't really dangerous, but it is uncomfortable. Secondly, you can FEEL your irises shifting and changing to the Sharingan's shape. Even now I get shaky from the very disturbing feeling. Beyond that is what the changes actually do.

I open my eyes, and I instantly know I have the Sharingan. Everything around me is clearer, brighter, more detailed. I could see faint trails of blue flowing everywhere, the chakra that flowed from close-by people.

I glance over to Sakura and see her chakra core fluctuating as she uses it to do the exercises. I look at Naruto and squint slightly in surprise. Even at this age Naruto's chakra core was amazingly large. He had more chakra than even Madara did, and that's saying something.

I blink, and all the changes disappear. I smirk and say quietly "Sharingan is a go."

"Well then, what about that other eye you have?" My gaze instantly snaps over to the voice, my body readying itself for attack instinctively. I blink, then breathe out a silent breath of relief as I just see Kakashi observing me.

I smirk and say "Those two bring any trouble?"

Kakashi just eye smiles and says "No, but you might if you try to steal my job." I open my mouth, then close it. I guess I am doing just that. Whatever, Kakashi can deal with some extra training. I shrug and just do my typical no-response grunt. "Hn."

Kakashi looks at me in what seems to be surprise as he says "Oh, the Uchiha grunt! I thought you had lost it Sasuke!" I just stare at him unamused, then grunt again. Just cause I'm an Uchiha doesn't mean I have to grunt… baka.

Back to the matter at hand, Kakashi asked about my 'other eye'. Turning to him, I say "So, by other eye, did you mean the Mangekyo or the Rinnegan?"

Kakashi shrugs and says "I would say both, but I know how exhausting the Mangekyo is from the one time I've used it. I doubt your body can handle that, even with the Kyuubi inside you."

He did have a point there. Turning back, I decide the best bet would be my Rinnegan. Now, if I could get THAT eye working, I could be unstoppable! The power it grants practically turns any user into a god, and I have this 'reincarnated chakra' of the first Uchiha, son of the Sage of Six Paths or something like that? Yeah, I think I would be pretty powerful.

I close my eyes, then search for the Rinnegan. This… isn't something easily explained. If someone tried to tell me how to activate a Rinnegan prior to me getting it, I would've been at a loss. The best way I can describe it is a feeling of power and control within your mind washing over you. To activate the Rinnegan, you need to find this 'feeling' and pull it forwards.

But… I can't seem to find that 'feeling' anywhere! I can't feel it! Why can't I find my Rinnegan?! I close my eyes tighter in stress, trying desperately to find the trigger for my Rinnegan.

A sudden explosion is heard and I can hear Naruto scream in frustration. Kakashi sighs and says "I'm going to go help Naruto. You keep… doing what you're doing." I nod, and I can hear him walk away.

I squint my eyes even harder, and then I feel something. I rush towards it, but then gasp as I feel a sudden tug on my consciousness. I get a sense of freefalling, and then I hit my back on something.

I groan in pain, rubbing my aching back. That didn't feel like grass. I crack an eye open, and then look around in surprise. I was back in that massive dojo. My mindscape.

I pick myself up, looking around in confusion. What am I doing here? I was looking for the Rinnegan, but that never required me to enter my mindscape before. I wonder… I look down the path leading to Kurama's cage. He would know, right? After all, he lives in my head.

I instantly start jogging down the pathway to Kurama's cage. I turn a corner, then instantly get blown onto my ass by a blast of hot air. Kurama glares down at me and says " **Do not call this a cage. This is my residence, not my prison."**

I pick myself up, nursing my sore head. I nod, then say "Yes Kurama-sama. But, I need to ask. Do you know why I was brought here when I was searching for my Rinnegan?"

Kurama grins and chuckles lowly. " **Ah, the Rinnegan. Yes, I do know why. Just follow my chakra and you will find the answer."**

A single, thin wisp of red chakra begins to seep from Kurama's position, passing the bars with ease. The wisp moves down the hall, then turns at the corner. I look back at Kurama, then to the chakra trail. I waste no time and begin running.

The first thing I notice as I follow the chakra is the strange markings on the walls. I noticed the Kirin before, but now I was noticing something else. It looked like tomoe markings, randomly strewn about Kirin's body. Some had it, some didn't. I didn't like that one bit.

I feel a sudden intrusion in my mind and instantly break my attention from the wall's designs. I turn back and see the chakra trail turning another corner. I turn around the wall, then halt in my tracks. My eyes widen immensely at what I see.

Right in front of me was a massive door, almost half the size of Kurama's door. The entire thing was red, and I could see tomoe all over it, often in the shape of the Sharingan. And then, there was this very GLARINGLY OBVIOUS design on each half of the door. Two Rinnegan eyes staring down at me. This had to be the place.

I walk forwards slowly, entranced by the beauty of the door. The red was a shining color and the purple was hypnotizing. The tomoe looked like they were… putting me… into… a trance. I can't think. I just want to touch it now…

A sudden flare of pain hits my hand and I snatch it back, hissing loudly. There was a burn on my hand now, and I can only grasp it in shock. I look around, trying to find the attacker.

" **Uchiha!"** My eyes widen as I hear Kurama's voice. The ground shakes a little, and then Kurama speaks again. " **Do not touch that door. It is an extremely powerful seal made by** **Taimuresu himself! If you touch it, it will erase all your memories of your previous life and you will lose your chance to change everything!"**

I rub my hand slightly, staring at the door in a new light. A memory erasing door-seal made by the god of time himself? That is a little extreme. I look around and say "But why is it here?"

" **When you traveled back in time, you were too powerful. The Rinnegan is a mortal tool of godlike power. Taimuresu had to seal it away, along with other powerful assets you may have had. If he didn't, you would've been ripped apart by the Sands of Time, as they destroy anything too powerful that travels through time."**

I raise an eyebrow and say "Why did he let me through then?"

The response was instantaneous. " **Taimuresu could see the destruction the chakra god Kaguya was enacting on the world. He needed to stop her, but was stuck in his domain. When he saw you and Naruto successfully creating a seal to bring you back in time, he knew he had to do something. As such, he sealed your Rinnegan when he entered the portal, preventing you from being destroyed by the Sands of Time."**

I… um… guess that makes sense. Now the gods themselves were helping us? I doubt I'll actually see one in this life… hopefully… but that still doesn't make this less strange. Well, I have to thank you Taimuresu.

I back up from the door, then quickly run down the hallway back to Kurama's… room. It only takes me a few moments before I get back. Was it just me, or did the whole return trip feel shorter than the trip to the door.

Kurama chuckles at my confusion, then says " **I suggest staying away from the door. It will unlock eventually, but not by your means."**

I raise an eyebrow at the cryptic message for only a moment before I feel a sudden tug on myself. Kurama looks up, then says " **Your friends are calling you. Best get up there."** The giant fox grins, then blows. The hot air rushes around me, and I feel myself thrown forcefully out of my mindscape and back into my actually body.

I tense slightly, then pick myself up off the ground. I crack an eye open and see everyone standing around me, looking worried. I raise an eyebrow and say "What?"

Sakura, looking the most worried, says "We say you just fall over! We thought something was wrong. Are you ok though?! Is anything broken? I can try to fix it."

I backpedal rapidly from the suddenly overly concerned Sakura. I spring to my feet and back up slowly, saying "Sakura, I'm fine!"

Sakura doesn't seem to listen and just keeps inching closer, her eyes suddenly going from concerned to crazy. It was in that moment that I realized she was in 'fan-girl' mode. So, I said the most fitting sentence for the current situation. "Oh shit."

Sakura squeals like a banshee and instantly takes off after me. I, in all honesty, yelp in surprise and hightail it the other direction. Why must I get the crazy ones! Why did it have to be now Sakura?!

I could hear laughing behind me and I turn towards the training ground, avoiding Sakura's grabs nimbly. I bolt past Kakashi and Naruto, screaming "I'LL GET YOU TWO FOR THIS!" My only response was more laughter.

Yeah… they are so dead.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **A shorter, plotful, and funny chapter! Why don't we have a little fun before the big stuff begins? Also, I hope it is clear by this point that this Sasuke and the normal Sasuke are very different, even if Sasuke himself thinks otherwise. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

When I went back in time to fix things, I figured I would go all avenger-style and take down the Akatsuki with my all mighty Rinnegan. Nope! Instead I am stuck here plowing someone's garden.

I grumble to myself for the umpteenth time as I plant another flower. Kakashi knows that we need to take down the Akatsuki, so why are we doing this?!

I look at him and finally decide to voice my thoughts. "Kakashi! Why are we doing this when we could be training?"

Naruto nods vehemently, screaming "Yeah!" Some random person yells back to stay quiet and Naruto blushes in embarrassment.

Kakashi looks up at us from behind his book. He ignores Naruto, looking straight at me. "We are doing this because we need money. Besides, if we want to take on C-ranked missions, we need at least 10 D-ranked missions completed. We have 9, so this is the last one."

I grunt, then get back to work. He did have a point. Even if we have a world to save, we need money to live and access to higher missions. Especially with the Wave mission coming. Wait, when is that?

My eyebrows furrow as I think on this. When was the Wave mission? It was some time after we became genin, and annoyingly after we had done plenty of D-ranks. So it must've been after a couple months.

But in this timeline, we have only done 9. I would opt to wait, but we also have done a lot more training. Naruto was getting the basic wind manipulation down and Sakura could convert her chakra into healing chakra. All in all, we could be at the same point in time.

My mind wanders to the mission itself. That mission was our first taste of the real ninja world and all the danger in it. Me and Naruto built our camaraderie on that mission, along with my sharingan reactivating. It was incredibly important to us.

But… how useful would it be here? Me and Naruto already have begun a friendship, and I already have my sharingan. I can't see a benefit to this.

"Sasuke." I blink, then turn around. Kakashi was looking at me with a seemingly indifferent look, but his furrowed brow told me different. He subtly gestures for me to come over, nothing but his hand betraying his calm demeanour.

I get up and walk over, wondering what Kakashi wanted. Kakashi eyes smiles as he sees Naruto and Sakura look at them curiously. "Me and Sasuke need to chat for a bit. No, he isn't in trouble. You two just keep going, alright?"

Sakura nods and keeps working, but Naruto looks determined to find out what was happening. I just frown and say "Naruto, no need for it. Just stay here."

Naruto looks at me, then sighs. He nods and turns around. Kakashi eyes me for a bit, then turns and walks to the side of our client's house. I follow him without question.

Kakashi gets in front of the house, then launches himself onto a roof. I follow without a second thought, landing next to Kakashi. Kakashi turns to me and says "What is it?"

I raise an eyebrow, confused. Kakashi sees this and says "What were you just thinking of? I can tell it was important."

My mind drifts back to what I could've thought of that was- oh, that, the Wave mission. I shake my head and say "It's nothing." The Wave mission had no benefit to us now, so I had no need to _damnit he has that look again._

Kakashi sets a firm gaze onto me, one that I knew all too well. Kakashi would get his information or I'd end up in the river with an incredibly sore ass…. Don't question it.

I sigh, knowing I had no way out of this. "Alright. I was thinking of our next big event, the Wave mission."

Kakashi nods, recognizing it from the story I told him and Hiruzen. "So, why were you thinking so hard on it Sasuke?"

I frown, then say "I see no benefit in it anymore. Me and Naruto are friends now and I have my sharingan, so nothing really matters anymore."

Kakashi looks at me, and I instantly get this feeling. It is a special feeling only teacher and student can share. It was that feeling of _oh shit I just screwed up didn't I?_

Kakashi shakes his head and says "Sasuke, I expected more from you. Can you really think of no other benefits?"

I look down in thought. What other benefits are there? We had everything that is important. What else is there besides comrades and the sharingan?

Kakashi sighs, then says "Nothing?" I nod. "How about experience, or an eye opener? They are just kids Sasuke, and they still think this is a game."

My eyes widen immensely when he says that. I… didn't think of that. Experience is extremely important, especially the first mission. Kami, I'm such an idiot!

I nod my head, still berating myself for such a dumb mistake. Kakashi eye smiles, then says "Good. Now that we have that out of the way, let's go continue the garden." I groan loudly, inciting some laughter from Kakashi. I follow him back, not willing to complain.

* * *

It took a while, but we eventually finished up for the day. Sakura waved us goodbye and ran to a training field. She seemed eager to continue her training. I don't blame her, healing is a fun talent.

Naruto sticks with me and Kakashi as we move to our own training ground. Kakashi said it was time to begin jinchuriki training. Surprisingly enough, Kurama seemed eager to do this. I have no clue why, the fox wouldn't elaborate.

I look up at the sky, thinking about this whole thing, hands stuffed into my pockets. This training would help me begin to tap into Kurama's chakra myself. I doubt I could get up to that golden cloak Naruto had in the war, but I feel like I could at least replicate the bijuu bomb and that bubbly orange cloak he used on me in… Final Valley.

Amazing how one memory can instantly break someone's mood. I was not fond of my fights with Naruto in Final Valley. The first one was of my complete idiocy of not turning back, and the last one was my attempt to remove any bonds so I can rule shinobi with no burdens. The second one…

I shudder every time I remember that time. Completely ruled by Itachi's death and my own idiotic ideals, I was at my worst in that time. I had completely lost it, and I had taken it out on Naruto and Sakura. I was even foolish enough to think I could take on Kakashi.

I shake my head, banishing the bad thoughts. That was in the past, I need to focus on the task at hand. And since we are now arriving at the training ground, I assume that is the training.

Me and Naruto go to the center of the field while Kakashi says "Alright you two, it's time to harness the Kyuubi's power. Don't worry about it going wild, we have ANBU here to restrain you if that happens."

I nod, then turn to Naruto. He seemed a little frightened, but also determined. I smile, then close my eyes. When they reopen, they are bright red with the sharingan's power. "Don't close your eyes Naruto."

Naruto nods, keeping his eyes firmly placed on my own. I channel my chakra into my eyes, weaving it into a way that couldn't be described with words. I can feel the tomoe spin, and then, the world goes black.

I open my eyes again and notice I am in a very strange place. It was like a factory basement with pipes running across the ceiling. Multiple corridors were around me, but there was a massive space behind me. I pick myself up, then realize that I was in at least a foot of water. I pick myself up fully, then look around again.

I hear a groan, then turn to my right. I see Naruto picking himself out of the water. He rubs his head, cracking an eye open. He looks at the walls with confusion, then turns around. His eyes go wide and he steps back as he notices the vast darkness.

I turn to the darkness, saying "Naruto, this is your mindscape. We will find the Kyuubi here." Naruto gulps, then nods. We begin moving forwards into the darkness.

Even with my sharingan the area around me was just a large mist of black. We had some sort of light following us, keeping the area around us illuminated at a set distance. After a bit, we fell upon a set of massive bars.

I knew what this was and stopped. Naruto looks at me, but I just gesture for him to continue. Naruto nods, then looks at the bars again. He inches forwards slowly, seeming to measure each step.

A blast of hot air hits us from the bars, making my hair flap wildly. Naruto freezes in his tracks as a massive set of red eyes suddenly appear above him. The being inches closer, and Naruto looks at the being in awe. It was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Kurama, in all his glory.

Kurama smirks at Naruto and says " **So, my jailer has finally returned. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"**

Naruto looks at Kurama in confusion. "Returned?" He looks at me, but I just shrug.

Kurama seems to finally take note of me and growls. But… something felt off. It lacked the hatred and menace that I used to feel from the fox. What's going on?

Kurama blows out more hot air, glaring at me. " **What is the Uchiha doing here?"**

I bow politely to the fox, saying "I only helped bring Naruto here Kyuubi-sama. I will not interfere."

This just incites a snort from the fox. He narrows his eyes, intensifying the glare. " **As if I would trust an Uchiha. You'd best be telling the truth, our I will crush your tiny mortal body with my claws."** I just nod, accepting the terms.

Kurama turns to Naruto again, grinning wickedly. " **Now, what does the fourth's brat have to say about me?"**

Once again Naruto seemed confused, but he shrugs it off. He straightens up and says "I've come to control your power Kyuubi. I need to so I can protect my nindo and my friends!"

Kurama looks at Naruto for a second, then tilts his head back and lets out a thunderous laugh. Naruto stumbles a bit, the laugh shaking the mindscape. I myself am unaffected. Kurama looks at Naruto again and says " **My power is not something that can simply be controlled by your will alone. I must allow you to use it, and you must be respectful with it. Nothing short of mutual respect will allow you to use this power."**

The massive fox lays down on the hard floor, looking at us with half-closed, but amused, eyes. " **Begone my jailer, and let us see how much you can handle for now."**

A sudden force hits us both. Naruto screams as he is sent flying away, disappearing from the mindscape. I try to fight the force, but it suddenly increases tenfold. Right as my feet leave the ground, I notice Kurama looking at me with a smirk. Then, things go black once more.

* * *

My and Naruto groan as we pick ourselves up. Getting launched out of a mindscape is never a fun experience, less so for me since I was in Naruto's and not my own.

We both stand up, Naruto looking around in confusion. I notice that my sharingan was still active, shown by the chakra flowing everywhere. I decide to keep it on for now. This body isn't as used to it as my old one was.

I look at Naruto, then frown. There was some sort of orange tint in his chakra, spreading higher and higher. What in the world is that?

" **Simple, Uchiha. My counterpart is spreading his chakra through Naruto's system to see how much he can handle."**

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. There was something wrong with that. " _Doesn't the seal prevent that?"_

I can feel Kurama nod his head in agreement. " **It prevents my chakra from flowing, yes, but it does not stop all of it. I never bothered to do it because Naruto was too stubborn to be controlled, but I could get up to a single tail out without his emotions going wild."**

It was at this point that I notice Naruto beginning to change. His whisker marks were thickening, and his pupils were becoming slitted. From what I remember, his teeth should be sharpening too. His hair had become even more wild than before.

Naruto grabs his head, gritting his teeth. "Agh, what's going on? I feel weird." He groans a bit as his fingernails sharpen like claws.

I notice some more of Kurama's chakra seeping into Naruto's system, and I say "The Kyuubi is putting his chakra into your system. I believe he wants to test how much you can handle."

Naruto looks at me, then nods. "If this is the training, then fine. I won't let that damn fox control me!"

Naruto grunts, then straightens up. I can tell he was having a difficult time controlling what was flowing into his body. He was sweating and his hands were clenched tightly.

" **Now, it is your turn Sasuke."** My eyes widen in surprise, and then a sudden pain hits my stomach. I yell out and clutch my stomach tightly. This felt like acid!

I can feel the acidic chakra flow through my body, spreading the pain. My arms straighten out, no longer able to bend with the corrosive chakra flowing through them. I grit my teeth and stand straight, trying to handle the pain.

I can feel the changes begin to happen as well. My fingernails sharpening, my teeth growing and becoming fangs, and oddly enough, the whisker marks thickening. I was having the same results as Naruto.

Then, multiple things happen at once. An explosion of chakra erupt from me and Naruto, bubbly chakra flowing around us. We scream, the chakra burning into our exposed skin and scorching our clothes.

I hear Kakashi call for us, but I heard nothing from the roar of chakra in my ears. I crack an eye open, and all I see is red. Another spike of pain hits me, making me yell again. This damn chakra was burning my skin off! Damn it Kurama, stop it!

Something must've happened with me and Naruto, because I suddenly see branches flying at me. They wrap around my body, and I struggle to get them off. Is this an attack? Where's Naruto?! Is he safe?!

Suddenly, I can feel the chakra leaving my body. For some reason, this left me… really… tired. I can feel my consciousness slipping away.

" **Maybe it was too soon for you."** Kurama slinks away, and the world goes black once again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Uuuggghhh… my head. What the hell happened. My body feels like it was dumped into a pit of fire.

I try to shift an arm, then hiss in pain. My arm felt like boiling oil right now! I can barely move it. I try to shift my head to look, getting only partial success. I do manage to see my arm though, and it makes me gasp in surprise.

My whole arm was raw red, the skin burnt in some places. No wonder it hurt, my whole arm was practically burned off! I turn my head to the other side and notice the same thing. I groan, the sound coming out more like a pitiful, silent whine. Kami, I hate this.

I look up, my other senses slowly returning. A quick sniff of the air told me instantly where I was. Antibiotics and other medicines. I was in a hospital.

After that, I just stare into the air, not sure what to do. I couldn't move, so I can't read or even look out the window. What else is there?

I look back at my burnt arm, and my eyes narrow. I guess there was one thing. I close my eyes, easing myself into a comfortable mind. I feel a tug on my consciousness, and I am launched into my mind.

I open my eyes, finding myself back in that large, and now familiar, dojo. I knew what I was here for, but I never took the time to really explore this place. Now that I am be ridden, it seemed like a good time.

Looking at the different doorways, I decide on one in random. I walk over and slide the door open, looking past it. The hallway beyond was the same as the ones I've gone down before.

I was going to explore the others before deciding, when I feel… something. It was like a feeling, and instinct, that I shouldn't choose another. I turn to the door, then decide to just continue down that hallway.

I look around, trying to discern any differences in the hallway. There just didn't seem to be anything though. The same, traditional style walls were around me, with Kirin staring down the hallway. Finding my search fruitless, I just look into the darkness in front of me.

After a while of nothing but walls, I stumble upon a door. I stop in surprise, not expecting the change. I look forwards and notice more doors. I turn to the first one, wondering what this was. I bring my hand up and touch the door.

" _Maybe another time Sasuke."_

My hand recoils on instinct, my eyes wide. What the hell was that?! And… that voice. It sounded so familiar. I look at the door cautiously, then decide to try again.

" _But why nii-san?!"_

I frown and take my hand off the door. Something was odd about these doors, but there was only one way to check. I put my hand on the door, ignoring the voices intruding my head. I push the door open, and watch in shock as a scene unfolds before me.

 _A young Sasuke pouts childishly at his big brother's response. Itachi just smiles warmly, amused by the younger Uchiha's reaction. Sasuke looks at his brother angrily and yells "But I want to practice shuriken with you nii-san! Please, I want to do it before your mission!"_

 _Itachi sighs in exasperation. He shakes his head, then says "My, you are certainly persistent today Sasuke"_

 _Sasuke runs over and clings onto his brother's leg. "I won't let go until you practice with me!"_

 _Itchi frowns, then shakes his leg a little. Sasuke just clings on tightly, not budging. Itachi's frown deepens, when a small, mischievous glint, a rarity for the prodigy, enters his eyes._

 _Itachi smiles, then says "If you want to practice with me, then you must hold on for ten minutes, ok Sasuke?"_

 _Sasuke looks up in surprise and confusion. He sees nothing but his brother's kind face looking down at him, but there was a certain look in his eyes. Sasuke frowns, then nods, his eyes blazing with determination._

 _Itachi's smile widens slightly, then he says "OK, let's go." And with that, Itachi flies into the air._

 _Sasuke's eyes widen exponentially as he suddenly sees the ground fall beneath him. He grips onto his brother's leg tightly, not wanting to fall off._

 _Itachi bounds across rooftops, trying his best to get the little Uchiha off his leg. Itachi looks down and sees Sasuke still holding on tight, his eyes closed and his mouth set in a nervous line._

 _Itachi smiles, then says "We have five minutes left Sasuke. Ready to go faster?"_

 _He doesn't hear anything, but he feels his brother nod. He smiles widely, a sense of excitement and joy he's never felt before rushing through his body._

 _Itachi puts more chakra into his legs and begins launching himself into the air, as high as he could. Sasuke's eyes snap open as he feels his grip slipping. He tightens his grip on Itachi's leg, watching with wide eyes as he sees him and his nii-san launch into the air continuously._

 _Sasuke grins widely as he feels Itachi launch them again. He laughs loudly, enjoying this exciting feeling. No wonder Itachi liked doing this, it was so much fun!_

 _Itachi smiles as he hears his brother laugh. Soon after, the Uchiha district comes into view. He does one last jump, getting a startled yelp out of Sasuke, before slowly jumping his way down to the ground._

" _You can let go now Sasuke." Sasuke does so gratefully, flapping his arms to get rid of the tingly feeling in them from the landings._

 _Itachi smiles and says "You held on for ten minutes Sasuke. I think I can help you practice your shuriken now."_

 _Sasuke stops waving his arms and looks up at Itachi with wide eyes. His face breaks out into a big grin, and he hugs Itachi tightly. "Thank you nii-san!_

 _Itachi smiles warmly, wrapping his arms around Sasuke tightly. "You are welcome Sasuke. And remember, I love you, no matter what happens."_

I step away from the door, my heart heavy and my hands shaking. I feel something roll down my cheek, and I notice the tears. If I was my younger self, I would've been disappointed by this weakness. But now, now I can let the tears flow freely.

I knew exactly why I was crying. That memory, it was the last one I had of Itachi before he murdered the clan. To have such a heart-warming memory right before the darkest of my life, it was incredible I didn't lose it then and there. I was torn, but not gone. My stubbornness made it hard to recover though.

I look at the next door, knowing exactly what it was. The dark, ominous aura around it helped with that. That was my memory of the Uchiha clan massacre. My darkest and most hated memory.

With what I just witnessed, I did not want to ruin the moment. I turn around and walk back the way I came. I wanted to keep that memory fresh for now.

I smile, my tears still falling, as I remember the memory. It was surreal, almost as if I was reliving it. No matter why though, it was amazing. To see Itachi again, it was something my tired and burdened heart needed.

It took only a short while before I was back in the main area of my mindscape. I whip my tears away and continue to the door I was more familiar with. I open it and walk into the hallway.

After another short and eventless walk, I found myself back in the seal. Staring down at me with an unreadable expression, was Kurama.

Kurama raises an eyebrow, then says " **I would ask about your wild emotions and why it took so long for you to come here, but that is of little importance. So, why have you come Uchiha?"**

I stand straighter, then say "Kurama-sama, I need to know, what happened to my body back at the training ground?"

Kurama just closes his eyes and says " **Your body was unable to handle the chakra I put into your system. You were burned, inside and out, because you were unused to it."**

I frown, thinking on it. Bijuu chakra was incredibly corrosive, so this made sense. I look back at the massive fox and say "Will this be fixed?"

Kurama nods slowly. " **Yes, it will be fixed eventually. Given time, your body will adjust and be able to use my chakra like Naruto could before you."**

I nod, sighing in relief. Having Kurama on my side, but the fox unable to do anything, would have been a great let down. Now though, I don't have to worry.

I bow respectfully, saying "Thank you Kurama-sama. Your help has been very appreciated."

Kurama just nods, laying down to nap. " **Yes, yes. Now then, if nothing else, leave me be Uchiha. I wish to nap."**

I nod, then close my eyes. Using my same exit technique, I feel myself pulled out of the mindscape. With a sudden thrust, I sent flying back into my 'real' body.

I open my eyes, then blink in surprise. Kakashi and Hiruzen were in the room, talking to each other.

"Yes, but it is too volatile for him Hokage-sama."

"Give it time Kakashi-kun. Naruto is the son of… you know who, so he would be a sealing expert. He would be able to let Sasuke-kun adjust. Also, I believe our young Uchiha just woke up."

My eyes widen in surprise, not expecting Hiruzen to notice me awake. I guess I couldn't be TOO surprised though. He was the Hokage after all.

Hiruzen and Kakashi look at me, Hiruzen smiling warmly. "Hello Sasuke-kun. I must say, it is quite strange to see you and Naruto so similar, yet so different."

I raise my eyebrow in surprise, the Hokage just chuckling warmly. I push myself up, and my eyes widen. What was just an unbearable pain was now just a dull throb. I look at my arm, my surprise growing. My arm was almost back to normal, only a few small splotches of red on it.

I look at it in disbelief, mumbling "What the hell…"

Hiruzen notices my disbelief and says "Yes, I too was quite surprised by this. Despite the sensitivity your body had to the Kyuubi's chakra, you seemed to gain its rather impressive healing abilities."

I just nod dumbly, not expecting this. Although, I guess I'd have no reason not too. Having a bijuu doesn't just result in your gut becoming a prison. Other things always happen.

I look up, then say "Why are you in here?"

Hiruzen nods, as if expecting this question. "Well Sasuke-kun, it seems we have entered the next phase of your quest."

I raise an eyebrow, wondering what he meant. Kakashi then steps in and says "Tazuna, the bridge builder, arrived while you were out. I took the mission for Team 7, but this means the Land of Waves is next."

My eyes widen in surprise. Has that much time really passes already? I guess I couldn't complain though. It meant I was one step closer to my goal.

I nod my thanks to them, and Hiruzen says "I suggest getting ready Sasuke-kun. This will be a long journey, correct?" I nod once more.

With that, the Hokage decides to make his leave, leaving me with Kakashi. Kakashi sighs, then says "I'm going to inform Sakura and Naruto. See at home Sasuke." I nod, and Kakashi body flickers away.

I look at the covers on my bed in slight shock. The Wave mission was now coming. I take my covers off, then walk to the door. I exit my room, continuing out of the hospital without any issues. Good, because I have a mission to plan for.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It was finally time for us to depart to the Land of Waves. This was going to be quite the interesting mission, and a good test of my abilities.

I look over the supplies I had for this mission. I had my kunai, ninja wire, soldier pills just in case, and some other essentials.

I frown as I look at one specific item in particular, one that wasn't to do with survival or fighting. It was a letter, sealed with the special seal only the Hokage can make. It was something the First Hokage did with his wood style to make an uncopyable seal stamp, even for someone else with wood style. It was unforgable and always authentic

The letter brought up what I just recently talked about with Hiruzen and Kakashi. We decided that Zabuza and Haku would be great allies for the village, and their goals just so happened to make it easier to convince them to come to the village.

The letter contained a list of benefits the missing-nin would obtain if they joined the village, along with an automatic promotion to jonin and chunin for Zabuza and Haku respectively. For the two constantly on the run from their village, this would be a much needed benefit for them.

I pack up the letter, wondering how I would even give this to Zabuza without the man cleaving me in half. That sword was massive and powerful, and I have no doubt it would be enough to kill me as I am.

I grab my bag and seal into a storage scroll, sticking it in my kunai pouch and pushing the thoughts away. It was something I could take up later.

I walk out of my room and run out of the house. Almost instantly I take to the rooftops, bounding across them to the gates of the village. I had only a few more minutes until I had to arrive.

After just a short trek, I reach the gates. Naruto and Sakura were already there, waiting for me. I land, giving them a typical greeting, before slumping onto the ground and groaning slightly. Even with my eagerness and previous experiences, getting up this early is never fun.

Just as these thoughts pass through my head, Kakashi and Tazuna appear with a body flicker. Kakashi just eye smiles at us, but Tazuna looked quite woozy. Remembering the guy's drinking habits, I quickly back away.

Kakashi waves and says "Why hello my cute little students! It's time for the mission to begin."

Naruto grins and gets up, his boundless energy kicking in. "Finally! Ever since you said we would be getting a C-rank mission, I've been so excited!"

Sakura scowls and hits Naruto on the head, causing the blond to yelp in pain. "Not so loud Naruto! It's still early."

I stand back up, looking as bored as ever. I really was, honestly. "So Kakashi-sensei, how long should it take to get to the Land of Waves?"

Kakashi's eye closes in thought, then he says "At a shinobi pace, only a day or two. But with Tazuna-san here, it will take about four days, give or take any… disturbances." He looked at me specifically when he said that, and I knew exactly why. The Demon Brothers were on the way there.

Relapsing into his normal demeanour, Kakashi then says "Well Tazuna-san, are you ready to go?"

Tazuna just grunts, then says "Sure, but if these brats start complaining on the way there, I am going to be upset."

Naruto growls, then yells "We ain't that petty old man! Have some respect for us ninja!"

Kakashi levels Naruto with a lazy glare, then says "Naruto, what did we say about yelling this early?"

Naruto looks at Kakashi for a second, then just grumbles to himself. Tazuna snorts, but Kakashi then says "And Tazuna-san, if you wish, we can go at a shinobi pace with you on my back so they 'don't complain'."

The drunken man pales rapidly, then quickly says "N-No, that w-won't be required."

Kakashi eye smiles and says "Then let's go, shall we?" Tazuna just nods, and we all begin walking.

As we move, Naruto tries to strike up with Sakura, met with limited success despite our new developing friendship. Kakashi just reads that book of his, while Tazuna continues to drink himself into a haze.

I observe everything quietly, my hands in my pockets. The progress we made recently was amazing. With Kakashi being more strict and not late for practice, we've gained much more knowledge on how to be a ninja. Or, Sakura and Naruto have.

Speaking of those two, my eyes drift to them. Sakura and Naruto had roughly the same dynamic as before, but more relaxed and banterful than the straight up bullying Sakura was doing before. Training and living together certainly changed things for the better.

Then comes their skills. Naruto was much more able than before at handling situations and reading underneath the underneath. He didn't freeze up when threatened (tested via a transformed Kakashi), and was much more serious in battle. He still cracked jokes and insulted the enemy, us, but he was better. Not only that, but his clones worked so much better than I thought. In the two months of us training, he managed to refine his fighting style some more, and completed his wind manipulation training. He learned the Gale Palm jutsu relatively easily, and he even managed to figure out how to augment his shuriken and kunai with wind chakra to give them a sharper edge and increased, plus nearly invisible, range increase.

Sakura was less progressed in terms of techniques, but she improved the most. After taking my advice on her diet, she decided to eat normally. Much to her joy, she didn't become chubby like she thought she would. In fact, it helped fill out her figure more, making her even more attractive in my eyes. She also increased her reserves after completing the tree walking exercise, but didn't get to start water walking before we left. She could also heal up to broken bones with her Mystical Palm jutsu.

All in all, the two were much more able and powerful compared to before. The training really was helping, and living with each other was breaking down the barriers we had slowly. Although, Naruto still refused to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi. That was going to happen at some point.

I frown as I suddenly get a thought. Naruto would more than likely need a good reason to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi. If he wasn't forced, then he'd need to have some sort of deal, like compensation. I knew where my brain was going with this, and I don't like it.

If Naruto wanted to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi, he would need something about her in return. And since they didn't know much about me, then I would need to join in. Telling them my big secrets, or the ones I had as a genin, were not pleasing. I don't wish to revisit those horrible memories.

I shake my head, gritting my teeth. No, these thoughts would not plague me anymore. I've already put them to rest long ago. Besides, I had new thoughts now…

Suddenly, there was an intrusion in my senses. My eyes widen slightly, and I quickly activate my sharingan. My eyes narrow as I notice traces of chakra ahead, leading to… a puddle?

Just then, I remember what was happening. Right, it was the Demon Brothers. Seriously though, who hid in a puddle on a road that hasn't been rained on in weeks?! And these guys are chunin?

I take a subtle glance to Kakashi, and notice him focusing on the puddle as well. Either this was like last time and he would take notice of it normally, or he remembered it from my story. Either way, this would be similar, yet very different to last time.

I quickly speed up and join into Naruto and Sakura's conversation. "Hey Naruto, Sakura. I need to say something. It's quite funny."

Naruto and Sakura freeze for just a second, before slipping back into a seemingly 'relaxed' position. Naruto grins, then says "Oh yeah? What is it teme?"

I grin, then say "Remember back in the academy when those two bullies tried picking on Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widen, then she frowns. "Sasuke-kun, that wasn't funny."

I shrug, then say "But it was. Besides, I took them down so easily. Naruto, you had my back at the time, right? And Sakura was behind us, being protected?"

Naruto nods, slowly moving closer to Tazuna, as was Sakura. "Yeah, I think that's what happened."

I nod, a smirk on my face. We were just passing the puddle. "They never saw it coming."

Now, we were all positioned. I was closest to the puddle, just in front of Kakashi. Naruto was next to me, and Sakura was near Tazuna. And now, here it is.

The puddle behind us suddenly erupts outwards, startling everyone. We watch with wide eyes as two ninja throw a barbed chain around Kakashi, wrapping him tight. Then, with a sickening squelch, Kakashi was ripped to pieces. Our eyes widen, mine only slightly less. Sakura then screams "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

One of the ninja chuckles, then says "One down." The other brandishes his gauntlet. "Four to go."

The ninja begin moving, making me drop the act. "Naruto, Sakura, Double Strike!." Naruto snaps out of his daze, then nods. Sakura nods numbly, but her mouth was set in a determined line.

I take off, Naruto staying close behind. I put my hand into the tiger seal as Naruto puts his in the cross seal. "HENGE!" "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Suddenly, 20 Narutos appear, and I looked just like them.

The two chunin look at the sudden mob in surprise, then just chuckle. "Useless against our chain." One of the whips the chain forwards, taking out three clones. I barely avoid the srike, but that gave me just what I needed.

With a burst of speed, I reach the first ninja. The ninja looks down at me in indifference, then shock. I smirk as I realize why. The Sharingan is hard to disguise after all. It must look odd to see it on one of twenty clones after all.

I instantly throw out a kick, slipping into my own fighting style, the Gale Fist. Utilizing my massive speed, I dance around my enemies with a flurry of hard punches and kicks. Despite the name, I don't use wind chakra in it. Although, maybe I could use fire of lightning chakra, maybe rename it Blitz Style. Fist would be weird with the word Blitz.

Getting back on track, I found out that my style came to me relatively easily. My muscle memory came back in a relatively short time. And with that, came an onslaught of punches and kicks at my opponent.

Eyes wide and shocked, he could only barely keep up with me. I wasn't far enough into my style that I could do those break dance style attacks, but my fluidity and constant dodging with my sharingan helped.

It only took a short time for the guy to get cornered. He growls, then says "Stupid brat!" He suddenly whips his chain at me, hoping to ensnare me with it. I slid underneath the metal with ease, expecting the attack. Kami, I love my eyes.

The Demon Brother yanks the chain back around, his eyes wide with anger. I just smirk and begin running through hand signs. The chain approaches me, just as I finish. I take a deep breath, then yell "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

The flame that I fire turns into a dragon's head for a split second, before roaring and attaching to the chain. It flies along the metal, leaving a trail of superheat metal behind, smoking with the burnt poison it.

The ninja's eyes widen in surprise, then fear as the flames quickly approach him. He fumbles with his gauntlet a bit, then the chain deattaches. He jumps back just as the flame reaches his position, burning silently now that a target was no longer there.

The ninja laughs, then eyes one of the blond clones. "Ha! Nice try kid, but you'll need to try harder than-" His speech was cut off as I plant my foot into his back. He rockets back down to the ground, and I grin as I come down with him.

Spinning myself, I bring down a powerful axe kick, right as the ninja rebounds off the ground slightly. "LION'S BARRAGE!" My heel slams into his gut, and the Demon Brother's eyes widen in pain. He gags as he feels the sudden flare of pain erupting from the attack.

I jump back, looking at my opponent. He was breathing heavily, and quite unsteadily too. He tries to pick himself up, but fell back down each time.

He looks over to me, two more clones joining me in case the guy managed to fight again. "H-How? How c-can a g-genin of all things b-beat me?! Especially a c-clone?!"

I smirk, dropping the henge. His eyes widen when he realizes he was fighting me, a real person, not a clone. "You may be a chunin, but I am much stronger than I look. My teammate should be finishing up your friend soon."

"Already got it done Sasuke!" A body flies into my vision, landing next to my defeated opponent. Naruto grins as he walks over to me. "The guy never saw me coming, especially when I started using my enhancements!"

I grin, then say "Nice work Naruto. Come on, let's tie these guys up." Naruto nods, pulling some rope out of a storage seal. He quickly ties the two ninja up to a tree truck, leaving the two exhausted ninja there to be picked up by ANBU.

I sigh, then say "Come out Kakashi. I know we need experience, but leaving us to fight two chunin?"

Kakashi chuckles, then steps out of the bushes, startling everyone but me. "Sorry Sasuke, but I needed to get some information."

His expression suddenly turns serious as he looks at Tazuna. "I was watching the battles, and I saw Naruto's opponent suddenly try to attack Tazuna. Luckily, Naruto stopped the attack. But this raises the question. Why were ninja attacking you Tazuna? And don't bother lying, I am a jonin for a reason."

Tazuna looks between with worry, then sighs. "Well, then I guess I have no choice. You see, someone is after my head. Gato."

Kakashi's eyes widen in mock surprise, and he says "Gato?! One of the richest men on the planet? That Gato?!"

Tazuna nods gloomily. "Yes, that Gato. He came five years ago and took control of our land. He controls all forms of trade, and since we are an island nation, that means our shipments are completely controlled. He's reaped this for his benefits for the entire time, and the economy of our nation has almost collapsed. The nation is in desperate need of free trade and economy."

Naruto frowns, then says "But why don't you just get a B-rank team then?"

Tazuna sighs, then says "I don't have the money for it. Even the daimyo has very little. That's why I purchased a C-rank mission. I desperately need a team to protect me so I can finish the bridge."

Sakura raises an eyebrow and says "Why is this bridge so important anyways?"

Tazuna nods, expecting the question. "The bridge will enable us to gain free trade again. It is a beacon of hope for our land. Sadly, this will break Gato's monopoly, and he doesn't like that. He has been sicking gang members on me and my workers to prevent us from working, and now, ninja. But I won't let him. This bridge is our last hope and needs to be completed."

Kakashi looks at him, then says "Be that as it may, this was still a lie to Konoha ninja. This is clearly a B-rank, bordering A-rank, and we cannot have that. If you just follow us, you can get your money back. This mission is over."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widen, and I raise an eyebrow. Naruto then screams "No way! That guy needs help Kakashi-sensei! We need to go with him and continue the mission!"

Sakura nods, a fire in her eyes. "Yeah! I won't return home knowing I could've helped those poor people Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighs, then says "I seem to be outvoted. How about you Sasuke?" He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but he knew my response already.

I cross my arms, then smirk. "I ain't backing down from this challenge. If Tazuna-san needs protection, then I will protect. Besides, I won't abandon my teammates just because of a couple enemy ninja."

Naruto and Sakura look at me with wide eyes, and then Naruto smiles warmly and Sakura gushes like a fan girl. I look at her in slight disgust and back away a bit. We all then look at Kakashi, daring him to deny us.

Kakashi looks between us, then says "Well, I really am outvoted. In that case, we'll continue with the mission."

Tazuna's eyes widen, then he says "R-Really?!" Kakashi just nods. Tazuna gapes slightly, then says "I… thank you."

Kakashi just shrugs him off, then says "Don't mention it. Now, let's get going." We all nod, then continue down the road. I take a single glance at the trees, then look forward again. This will be interesting.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **For some reason, I had a big case of writer's block on this. I couldn't focus, and it was hard to write. But I managed it, and I hope it came out well. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Naruto."

"Are we there yet?"

" _NO…_ dobe."

Silence… "Are we th-"

"Naruto, finish that sentence and no amount of shadow clones will save you from the pain you will feel."

Naruto sweatdrops, then promptly shuts his mouth. I breathe out a sigh of relief, thanking whatever deities did exist that I finally had some peace and quiet. Well, as peaceful as I could be when I am on this mission.

We had just gotten off the boat a little bit ago, and we are currently trekking through the forest to where Tazuna's house was. If my memory was correct, Zabuza appeared when we got to a lake. And, if my vision is correct, _which it is_ , then there was a lake just ahead.

Shutting out any other distractions, my mind began to focus on the area around me. I silently activate my sharingan and look around the area discreetly. I could see two chakra signatures, larger than the surrounding wildlife, hiding in the trees ahead. They must be Zabuza and Haku.

I nod once, seemingly to no one, but I knew Kakashi got the message. _They are here, and in the same spot._ Kakashi doesn't react at all, but the silght tensing of his muscles that even the sharingan could've missed told me otherwise.

We walk in relative silence, and I could guess why. Zabuza's chakra was flaring just a bit, pumping out a little more mist every now and then. Soon, they would be hidden in the chakra-laced mist.

Sakura shudders behind me, then says "This mist is creepy. Is it always like this Tazuna-san?"

Tazuna nods his head once, his bottle put away for once. "It is. The combination of the large lake and the sea often make this place misty. Luckily, it rarely reaches the town."

Sakura just takes this information. Naruto was looking around, slightly nervous but still alert. I smirk, when I hear a sudden shaking in a bush nearby. Before my mind could even register it, a kunai was sent into the bushes.

Naruto runs over, and my eyes widen when I realize what was happening. When Naruto pushes the bush apart and reveals a white bunny, my thoughts were confirmed. Naruto gasps, then grips the bunny tightly in a hug. "OH MY KAMI! I'm sorry little bunny!"

Sakura breaths out a sigh of relief, then says "Naruto, don't do that! You scared me." Naruto just grins sheepishly, dropping the bunny. It promptly jumps away, scared for its life.

I watch with slight amusement, when Kakashi speaks up behind me. "Hmm. White fur? That isn't normal for this time of season."

I nod in agreement, my senses on high alert. Then, an intrusion in my senses, a fast and dangerous intrusion. My eyes widen and I yell "Get down!" I drop down as Kakashi pushes down Tazuna. Naruto and Sakura reflexively follow my orders and drop as well.

A loud whistling sound is heard over us, along with a heavy thunk. I look up and notice the massive cleaver-like sword. As I pick myself up, the wielder of the sword finally appears.

The tall man had no shirt, other than the straps used to hold up his sword's holster. He had on pale blue pants, along with arm and leg guards that were colored like a cow. The defining feature was the half face mask that consisted of nothing more than bandages.

The man chuckles, looking down on all of us. "Well, I'm surprised that you avoided that attack, especially with all the genin" He seems to smile widely at us. "Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan Eye."

I grit my teeth, staring at the man who I needed to incapacitate. "Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist."

Zabuza looks at me, and even with my experience, I knew he was a dangerous opponent. This man, he could gut my like a wish without a second thought. Zabuza smirks, then says "So the brat knows me. I feel honored that such a green ninja does his research."

Zabuza grabs his sword, rips it out of the trunk of the tree it was lodged in, and jumps onto the ground. He plants the sword in the ground, looking at all of us. "Let's avoid the fighting Hatake. It'd be a shame for one of us to die, so let's avoid it."

Kakashi narrows his eyes, a kunai in his hand and in a defensive position. "And what would be the conditions of us avoiding a battle."

Zabuza grins, and picks up his sword. He points at Tazuna with it and says "The bridge builder's life."

Kakashi just huffs, then says "Sorry, but he's my mission. You'll have to go through me to get Tazuna-san."

Zabuza grins, then says "Well, my mission is to kill him. And know, all your lives are forfeit!"

Zabuza jumps back onto the lake, holstering his sword. He falls into a stance, one hand in the half-ram seal, and the other raised above his head, two fingers extended. "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the mist already lingering in the air begins to thicken drastically. I jump back to my teammates, and say "Guys! Manji formation!"

Naruto and Sakura nod, and they surround Tazuna, eyeing the area around them. I complete the triangle, looking around rapidly with my eyes.

A chuckling is heard through the mist, making our hair stand on end. "Eight points. Larex, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which one will I use to kill you three?"

Naruto grips his kunai tighter, his eyes widen and searching the area. Sakura was shivering, her eyes wide as well, and a frightened expression on her face. I just grit my teeth, forcing down the shivers in my body. Even if I was mentally 18, I still was unnerved by this man's jutsu. He was my first experience of the real world after all.

Some more chuckling reverberates through the area around us. "Oh? This kid, he's managing to keep his fears down. And… hold on."

I suddenly feel a breeze of air, and my eyes snap to it. Suddenly, Zabuza's voice says "This brat has the sharingan? And here I thought the Uchiha were all whipped out."

My eyes focus on the sound, and then widen slightly. I could just barely make out a faint discoloration in the mist, a black and white color. I smirk, gripping my kunai tighter. "Too bad then. I was left alive, and my eyes can still SEE!"

I throw my kunai forwards, watching Zabuza disappear once more. "Impressive brat. You managed to locate me. But now where am I?"

The chuckling once again goes around us, but I can hear something else. With my trained eyes, I smirk, knowing exactly where Zabuza was. I turn and lash out with my kunai. I hear a sickening squelch, making my team's eyes go wide.

Zabuza was there, in the middle of all of us, staring at the kunai. He narrows his eyes at me, then dissipates into water. I pull my kunai back and turn to the mist, when a rush of chakra hits us. Suddenly, the mist is blown away, clearing the area around us.

Kakashi raises himself from his stance and says "Naruto, Sakura! No need to be afraid. As long as I am here, I will protect you with my life." Naruto gulps, then nods. Sakura just looks at Kakashi with wide eyes, then nods, her grip loosening slightly.

More chuckling is heard, and Zabuza says "How cute. But you shouldn't have left your guard down!" Suddenly, a sword slashes through Kakashi, bisecting him. Our eyes go wide only for a second before the Kakashi we saw dissolves into water.

Zabuza's eyes widen in surprise, and he jumps backwards, just as a kunai hits where he once was. Kakashi eyes Zabuza cautiously, then says "Sakura, defend Tazuna-san. Naruto, Sasuke, provide me backup." I nod once, running up to Kakashi's side. Naruto joins us, and our side eyes Zabuza. Kakashi tenses, and then we all three run at Zabuza.

Kakashi begins the fight with a strike at Zabuza with his kunai. Zabuza avoids the hit, jumping back rapidly onto the lake. Kakashi runs after him, but me and Naruto stop. I eye the battle as the two jonin fight each other at high speeds.

Naruto looks around, then says "Damn it! We can't water walk yet, so what do we do?"

My eyes narrow as I see Zabuza bring his blade down, forcing Kakash into the lake somewhat. "For now, wait. We can fight soon." Naruto looks at me with a confused expression, then nods.

Zabuza grunts as he forces Kakashi down more. "Nice try Kakashi, but now I win!" He jumps back, then quickly weaves through some hand signs. Kakashi's eyes widen when he recognizes the technique. He quickly tries to escape the water, but Zabuza pushed him down too much. Zabuza does the last hand sign, then extends his hand. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

The water around Kakashi erupts around him, quickly shaping into a sphere of water. Kakashi stares ahead, his eyes wide that he was caught. Zabuza chuckles, then says "Now that you are trapped, I can take care of your little brats."

Zabuza forms the half-ram sign, and a clone forms in front of him. The clone eyes me and Naruto, then runs forwards. My eyes widen, and I yell "Naruto! Get ready!"

The clone reaches us on land, then tries bisecting us. I duck under the swing while Naruto goes over it. Naruto lands on the blade, sticking to it with his feet. Thank Kami we at least finished tree climbing, even if water walking wasn't done yet.

Just as I thought, the clone's focus went to Naruto. I quickly run forwards, slicing through the clone with a kunai. The clone falls to the ground, then dissolves.

Zabuza chuckles and says "Impressive brats you got there Kakashi. The seem to be able to handle their own."

Kakashi just eye smiles, then says "Oh, they aren't done yet." Zabuza looks at Kakashi with a raised, nonexistent eyebrow.

I reach into my kunai pack, pulling out a windmill shuriken from my storage seal. "Naruto, time for our new technique!" Naruto nods, grinning. "Right!"

Me and Naruto had practiced this technique when I remembered what got Kakashi free. We now were able to add a little extra to the technique, thanks to Naruto's wind affinity.

I smirk, setting the shuriken to its four-bladed position. "Demon Wind Shuriken, Windmill of Shadows!"

I bring my air back, feeling Naruto transform behind me, while simultaneously forming a shadow clone in his place. With the real shuriken and the transformed shuriken Naruto in hand, I send them both flying at high speeds.

Zabuza eyes the shuriken, then scoffs. "Easy." He grabs the first shuriken in his free hand. His eyes widen slightly when he sees the second shuriken. "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first? Predicta- what?!"

His surprise came in the form of the shuriken suddenly speeding up greatly. Zabuza's eyes widen in surprise, then he jumps up high. He jumped high enough that his hand exited the sphere of water, freeing Kakashi.

Zabuza eyes me with surprise, saying "Wind Style manipulation?! But the shuriken was already in flight!" I just grin, then point behind him.

Zabuza turns behind himself, and his eyes widen once more. The second shuriken transforms back into Naruto with a poof of smoke. Naruto grits his teeth, channeling wind chakra into his kunai. "Take this!"

He throws the kunai, landing in the lake in the process. The kunai rips through the air, much faster than normal. Zabuza tries dodging, but the kunai was too fast. It cuts a deep gash in his side, making the man grunt in pain.

Zabuza eyes Naruto with fury in his eyes and yells "You little BRAT!" He brings the windmill shuriken back to send it at Naruto, when he suddenly feels a pain in his back.

He turns around shakily to see Kakashi standing there, a kunai lodged into Zabuza's shoulder. "You let your guard down Zabuza." Zabuza barely even registers what just happened before he was sent back onto land with a hard kick to the side.

I jump back to Sakura as Zabuza lands on the ground, obviously in pain. Kakashi grabs Naruto, then runs back to the shore. Naruto quickly runs around Zabuza, but the mist jonin doesn't care. All he could see was the enemy in front of him.

Kakashi begins shifting slowly, forcing Zabuza to follow. Zabuza's eyes were wide with rage when he begins going through hand signs. "I won't be beaten" "just yet Kakashi."

Zabuza's eyes widen when Kakashi finishes his sentence. "No, don't" "do that!"

Zabuza's eyes narrow as he quickens his hand signs. "Damn you Kakashi! I won't be beaten-"

Kakashi finishes his hand signs, then yells "Water Style: Water Vortex jutsu!"

Zabuza stares at Kakashi in shock as the water wave rushes at him. "What?! But that was my jutsu!" Zabuza doesn't get to say any more as the water crashes into him, sending him into a tree.

Kakashi eyes Zabuza carefully as the water recedes. The missing nin looks up at Kakashi with wide and fearful eyes. "W-What? D-Does that eye let you… s-see the future?!"

Kakashi just narrows his eyes, a kunai coming to hand. "Yes. And I see… your death."

Just as Kakashi is about to kill Zabuza, two senbon fly from the trees, striking Zabuza in the neck. The jonin's eyes widen, and then he slumps onto the ground with no movement.

Suddenly, a person appears next to Zabuza. Wearing the fake hunter nin mask and the battle kimono, I knew who this was.

Haku nods her… his? thanks and says "Thank you for fighting Zabuza. I have been after him for a long time."

Naruto narrows his eyes as he sees the new arrival. "Who is he? And how did he take out Zabuza with just two senbon?!"

Kakashi sighs, lowering his headband back into its normal position. "Naruto. In the world of ninja, there are often surprises. One common surprise is ninja younger than you, but stronger than me. Remember that."

Haku looks at us, then says "Thank you for letting me kill Zabuza. Now I will take him and dispose of the body."

I shake my head, saying "Wait. I want to make sure he is dead."

Haku stiffens slightly, then says "Of course." He steps away, and I walk up to Zabuza. I bring my head down, looking for a heartbeat. I have to hand it to Haku, he could certainly make someone seem dead. As I get up, I quickly slip the Hokage's letter into Zabuza's pouch.

I stand up completely, noting that Haku didn't see me slip the letter into the pouch. I turn to Kakashi and nod my head. "He's dead."

Kakashi sighs, then says "Good." Haku just nods, then body flickers away with Zabuza's body. Kakashi slumps slightly, when his eyes widen. "Wait a second."

Sakura looks at Kakashi in confusion. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi's eyes narrow as he says "Hunter nin dispose of the body right on the spot to prevent village secrets from becoming known. That hunter nin, he took the body."

Sakura's eyes widen in realization, but Naruto just frowns in confusion. "But what does that mean Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi turns to Naruto, then says "I think Zabuza is still alive."

Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. Kakashi eyes him, then eyes smiles. "Now, can one of you catch me? I am blacking out."

With that, Kakashi begins tilting dangerously. I quickly run forwards and catch Kakashi before he hits the ground. I look at him, then I say "Chakra exhaustion. He just needs rest."

Sakura and Naruto breath out a sigh of relief. Tazuna looks at us all with wide eyes, then he says "Damn, I got lucky with you brats."

I snort, then say "Lucky? Dobe over here made this mission an A-rank!"

Naruto looks at me with anger in his eyes and yells "No I didn't teme!"

I just smirk as we all begin walking to the town. "Of course you did! With your luck as good as it is, you'd have to have something big to balance it out!"

Naruto looks like he is about to retort, when he thinks of something. He sighs in defeat and says "You're probably right teme."

I just laugh at the declaration of Naruto's amazing, yet horrid luck. With that, almost all was right in the world.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

In a clearing secluded from the island's populace, two people were present. One was clothed in a battle robe and a mask, the other just his pants and a sword holster. The masked one looks at the man on the ground and says "First, I will drain the blood. Then I will-"

They get interpreted as the man lying down suddenly lurches and growls. He grabs the senbon in his neck, then rips them out violently.. He coughs, then says "Damn Haku, why are you always so harsh about that?"

The masked ninja takes off their mask, showing a very feminine face beneath. She frowns and says "Zabuza-sama, I told you not to do that so harshly. You can give yourself nerve damage."

Zabuza grunts and says "Hasn't happened yet. Now then, we need to get back so I… can… what is this?" Zabuza reaches down to his pouch, noticing something there that wasn't before. He grabs it and pulls it out to show a letter, emblazoned with the symbol of fire.

Haku's eyes widen in surprise. "I did not see that. Where did it come from?" Her eyes shift slightly as she remembers the young boy that examined Zabuza. "So it was him."

Zabuza just grunts and says "Doesn't matter Haku. This letter is important." He reaches for the seal, knowing that this was authentic. No matter the effort, no one was able to copy the Hokage's seal.

He tears open the envelope, revealing the letter inside. He unfolds the parchment and quickly scans through it. Haku eyes it from behind, and slowly her eyes widen in surprise. Zabuza's eyes narrow as he continues, his hands clenching the paper tightly.

"Haku. Your thoughts?" Haku instantly removes her surprise, her mind running through what she found out. She frowns, then speaks her thoughts.

"What they are offering to us is too good to pass up. Protection from hunter-nin, a place to stay, along with instant promotion in the village. The probation is understandable, due to us being missing-nin, but it doesn't mean much. Altogether, this is a miracle for us. But… I am curious as to how the Hokage came across this information, and also our location."

Zabuza nods, coming to the same conclusion. "As you said, this is too good to dismiss. Still... that old man better have some answers for me on how he got this information."

Haku looks at her master and says "Are we going to listen to them already? It wouldn't be advisable. This could still be a trap."

Zabuza snorts, putting the letter in his pouch. "Of course we won't. We'll look for the signs they told us about. Also, you better go meet those brats where the letter told you to. That would be the best way to gain information."

Haku nods, a similar conclusion in her head. Zabuza looks at his apprentice, then lays back down. "Now, let's go. I need to get back, and my legs are fucking shot right now."

Haku sighs, then nods. She grabs Zabuza and quickly runs back to their hideout. On the outside, she was calm and collected. On the inside however, her mind was going wild. How did the Hokage know where they were? Their mission? And… how did he know of her bloodline?

And that boy. What kind of shinobi was he to sneak that letter without her knowledge?

* * *

"Look, a tree! It's waving at me. Hi tree!" I look at Kakashi with exasperation as he mumbles randomly. He somehow regained consciousness during our trip back and now sounded completely insane. What the hell happened?

Naruto chuckles and says "The tree has a gift K-Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi blinks, then his one eye widens. "A gift! I bet it is the alligator wind-up spoon I ordered on Ebay! Give the gift you bastard!" Naruto snickers and tries to conceal his laughter.

Tazuna sweatdrops as he watches Kakashi. "That man is crazy. Nothing to it, just plain insanity." I can only nod in agreement.

Sakura frowns and says "This isn't normal, right?" I just shrug, not sure nor caring in the first place. "You're the medic, you tell me. But this is hilarious, so take your time."

The pink-haired genin glares at me slightly, then goes over to Kakashi. Her hands glow green and begin to travel along his body. "A mild cause of chakra exhaustion, but not as severe as I thought. He seems to be lacking chakra in the brain, which is probably why he is loopy. Together, I think that eye of his… the sharingan, drained his chakra and left his brain empty. It'll take another hour before he can speak coherently, and a week before he can fight normally."

I glance the silver haired man I was carrying, who now was arguing with the ground about… honey flavored coconut noodles? Anyways… for him to regain consciousness this early, albeit fucking insane, but still early was impressive. He must've trained some while we had time. I smirk and think " _Secret training, huh Kakashi? Nice job."_

Kakashi suddenly dangles from my arms, his sharingan eye spinning lazily and screams "I can see EVERYTHING!" My smirk instantly disappears, as well did the my new respect for the man. Kurama just laughs loudly in my head.

We tried to ignore Kakashi's slowly decreasing ramblings until we reached Tazuna's house. Tazuna opens the door and calls out "Tsunami, Inara, I'm back!"

There is some rattling in the next room, before a young lady walks to us. She had long black hair, along with a red shirt, and a blue dress below that. She currently had an apron on as well.

The lady smiles and says "Papa, you're finally home!" She turns to us and smiles gently. "And with the ninja too. But aren't they… a bit young?"

Tazuna just laughs and says "They may be young, but they did amazing work! We got attacked by, ah… the Demon of the Hidden Mist they said! Seemed scary and powerful, but those two brats back there took him down! The girl didn't do much." Sakura clenches her fists angrily. "But she had conviction that told me otherwise!" Her anger drains instantly. I just edge away from her slowly.

Tsunami seems to say something, when a new and younger voice cuts in. "What's it matter? They're just gonna die anyways."

We all turn to the new arrival, a young boy with a hat and green overalls. He was all glaring at us, especially me and the team. Tsunami gasps and says "Inari! Don't say such rude things to the ninja!"

Inari glances at her, right as Naruto yells "Oh yeah you little brat?! Just watch me, I'll protect your grandpa and become the strongest ninja you'll ever see!"

Inari glares at Naruto, who glares right back at him. Inari just huffs and turns around, muttering as he goes up the stairs. "Stupid ninja are just gonna die. They won't be heroes. There's no such thing."

Naruto growls, when I put a hand on his shoulder. He looks at me curiously, and I just shake my head. Naruto frowns, then nods. I turn to Tsunami and say "Excuse me Ms. Tsunami, but do you happen to have a place for our sensei to rest? He got drained during the battle and needs time to rejuvenate."

Tsunami looks at our sensei, before nodding once. "We do have a spare room with a futon. We can put your sensei in there." I nod my thanks and follow her up the stairs.

After putting our sensei down on the futon, I breathe a sigh of relief. "Finally, my arms were killing me! Why is such a scrawny guy so heavy?!"

Naruto looks between us, before saying "Maybe it has to do with the fact that he is nearly double your height." I just nod with tears. Why am I so damn short?!

I pump a fist and scream "I will beat Kakashi in height! I swear this to any deity listening!" Naruto sweatdrops and turns to Sakura. "I think Kakashi-sensei did something to him." Sakura just nods, dumbfounded.

Ignoring my small slice of insanity, I turn to Tsunami and say "Thank you very much for helping us. Is there a place for us to rest as well?"

Tsunami blink, then nods slowly. "Y-Yes. Right this way." We quickly follow, leaving our sensei in the bed behind us. Tsunami shows us our room, conveniently set up with three futon as well. As we enter, she says "I hope you all sleep well tonight. You all must be exhausted fighting such a strong shinobi."

I smile and nod. "We all are tired. Thank you very much Ms. Tsunami." She just smiles and closes the door behind us.

I sigh, then fall onto the futon. "Man… I really am exhausted, and I didn't do much! I did… what, throw a shuriken?"

Naruto chuckles as he lays down just as unceremoniously as I did. "Yeah. You must be losing your touch teme!"

Sakura frowns and says "He did so much more than that Naruto! He helped lead us, along with seeing Zabuza in the mist. He was amazing!"

I just wave her off, saying "It wasn't much, but it did tell me one thing." I frown and say "We need more training, especially if Zabuza is alive. I think that tomorrow, we go to the forest and train."

Naruto and Sakura nod, just accepting my thoughts. After that, things go quiet. With little noise invading my thoughts, I begin to explore them. There was little of interest, until I came upon one in particular. I frown, then say "Guys, you still awake?"

Naruto responds with "Yeah, I am teme." Sakura follows shortly after with "Yes I am Sasuke-kun." I nod to myself more than to them, satisfied.

"Naruto, this is important. I think it's time we tell Sakura about number nine." I pick myself up, looking at Naruto, who freezes mid motion. He looks at me with wide, fearful eyes. I lean forwards, ignoring Sakura's look of confusion. "We need to tell her soon. I am ready, but are you?"

Naruto stares at me for what felt like an hour before nodding slowly. I smile gently and say "Good. Come on." I gesture to Sakura, who was now looking at us expectantly. Naruto glares at me and says "I better get something in return for this teme." I just smirk slightly, albeit strained, and say "I have something in mind."

The blond genin sighs to himself, then turns to Sakura. "Sakura… do you… remember how I was treated in the village?" Sakura nods, wondering what this was all about.

Naruto gulps, then says "I-I… contain… the Kyuubi." Sakura's eyes widen in shock, and Naruto flinches slightly.

Sakura shakes, then says "W-What do you mean you 'contain' the Kyuubi?" Naruto looks at her and tries to answer, but he was having difficulty. Time for me to step in.

I look at her and say "It means that the fox is sealed into his stomach. He is a container for the bijuu, called a jinchuuriki."

Sakura's looks at me with surprise, and slight disturbance. "A… human sacrifice?! Why are they called that? Naruto is still alive, if this is true."

I sigh, then say "This is true, me and Naruto have proof. As for why they are called sacrifices, well… most jinchuuriki live horrible lives. This is because of the fact that people see them as the demon itself, not as a container of the demon."

She eyes me, then looks to Naruto. "So… is that why the villagers always called you the demon brat?" Naruto nods solemnly. Sakura frowns, then says "But what's the proof? No offence Naruto, but you are notorious for being a prankster."

I chuckle, and a small smile plays at Naruto's lips. "I guess that is true. Show her the seal Naruto." Naruto nods, then lifts his shirt. Channeling a small bit of chakra, the intricate seal appears on Naruto's stomach, making Sakura's eyes go wider than ever before.

I glance at the seal, then say "That isn't all." She looks towards me in confusion, and I lift my shirt. Ignoring her blush, I channel chakra to my seal, showing a similar, but slightly different, seal as Naruto's.

Sakura gapes at the pattern on my stomach and says "Sasuke… you too?" I nod, not as solemnly as Naruto, but still slowly.

Sakura looks between us, then says at me again. "Wait. If Naruto has the Kyuubi, what do you have Sasuke?"

I smirk ever so slightly and say "I have the Kyuubi as well." Seeing her confusion, I say "The Fourth Hokage split the Kyuubi's chakra between us, which is why we both can contain it." That was an obvious lie, but would she really believe that I was a time traveler?

Sakura frowns, accepting the answer, then looking between us. "Is there a chance it can… break free?"

I shake my head. "No way. Naruto's may need to be fixed up a bit in a couple years, but otherwise, there's no way for the Kyuubi to get free. Besides, I think the old furball likes messing with my head too much." Just as I say that, Kurama decides to slam against his cage, rattling my mind.

My eyes snap open and I scream "FUCK! I'm sorry, alright?!" Sakura and Naruto gape at me, surprised at my little outburst. Then, Sakura begins to giggle. Naruto turns to her in surprise, while I smirk. " _As much as it hurt my head, I learned this from Naruto. A little joke can always ease the atmosphere on these things."_

Sakura giggles some more, then says "I, ha, can't be scared when THAT happens!" She proceeds to giggle some more, making me smirk and Naruto breathe out in relief.

I look at Sakura and say "Well, since Naruto revealed his secret, do you have anything for us Sakura?"

Sakura giggling dies down as she thinks. Slowly, she shakes her head. "Sorry, but my life was pretty normal. Loving parents, safe house, it was pretty ordinary."

I nod my head. "In that case, I guess I need to reveal something." I look down, my bangs hiding my eyes. "This is something… that needs to be revealed. I can't keep this a secret any longer."

Naruto and Sakura look at me curiously, and I finally decide to take the plunge. "You both know how during the middle of our first year, I became that brooding little bastard?"

They both nod, Naruto somehow ignoring the joke. I look at them and say "I didn't just decide to become a jerk that day. That day… was the day my whole clan was murdered."

Their eyes both open wide, both in shock and confusion. I chuckle grimly and say "I didn't even realize you guys didn't know until recently. Somehow, just like Naruto's tenant, they kept that information from the children. I figured… you guys had a right to know, especially if we are living in the empty clan compound."

Sakura's eyes widen, but for a different reason this time. "I didn't even think of it at the time, but the compound really was empty! Is this why?" I just nod, making Sakura look down in thought.

I smile, trying to comfort myself at this point. These memories still hurt… so much. "As if things aren't bad enough, it was all done by my brother. The infamous Itachi Uchiha."

Once again, they look at me in shock, more so Sakura. The medic then says "I heard of him! I couldn't ever figure out why, but everyone was afraid of him. I knew he ran away from the village, but that was all I knew."

I chuckle again, then say "So now you know why. My whole clan was murdered by my brother."

I sigh, then say "Even though I know you guys have questions, let's just go to sleep. This was exhausting for me."

Naruto and Sakura nod in agreement. Just I begin to lay down, I hear behind me "Teme, just know, me and Sakura will be there for you."

I smile slightly and say "Thanks Naruto. And I'll be there for you guys as well." After that, some shuffling is heard, and then everything is quiet.

I stare into the darkness, my mind swirling with my thoughts. Even though it was painful, somehow, that felt fulfilling. I… feel as if I am lighter, a weight taken off my shoulders. I sigh, and for the first time in both my lives, I am able to put the clan behind me.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **As much as I try to make things emotional, I feel like I can't ever describe them enough. I just hope you guys enjoyed this. Team 7 is finally bonding even deeper, and secrets are revealed. How will things turn out now? I'll leave that for you guys to guess.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Ugh, what hit me?" Kakashi groans as he finally regains consciousness the next day. He cracks his eye open and looks around. This wasn't any place familiar. Where was he?

He tries to sit up, then groans in pain. He lies back down, rubbing his head. He had a massive headache, and he bet he knew why. "At least it isn't almost complete immobility like the other times."

Just then, the door to his room opens up. In walks his two cute little students, and his deceptively cute not-so-little student. He still had a hard time believing Sasuke was mentally 18.

Naruto blinks, then grins widely. "Hey, sensei is awake!" His students then run to his side, checking to see if he was fine.

Kakashi eye smiles and says "Ma ma, no need to worry. I just have a headache." He waves his hand dismissively as well.

Sasuke eyes him a bit, taking in his form. " _He's better than last time. I am certain he did something in secret."_

In Kakashi's mind, he was breathing a sigh of relief. " _That chakra training I did with Obito's sharingan came in handy. I still can't believe I only got out of that with just a headache."_

Kakashi sighs out loud this time as he lowers himself onto his pillow, ignoring the pounding pain in his head. Shortly after Sasuke told him what the future was like, and him in particular, he was severely disappointed. Although Sasuke could've changed some things by accident, he was still certain his past/future self was not very impressive. As a result, he trained. In the short span between the team's formation and the Wave mission, he constantly worked on his chakra control, reserves, and using his sharingan. He had yet to attempt the Mangekyo sharingan yet, but he was getting confident in his abilities.

Misinterpreting his sigh as a sound of pain, Sakura quickly attends to her sensei. Her hands begin to glow green as she says "Sensei, you still have some mild chakra exhaustion. You need to rest for a few more days."

Kakashi just nods his head slightly in agreement. He knew better than to try and get out of resting. Naruto just watched with a keen eye, while Sasuke was just frowning. A few days is better than a weak, but they still need training.

Taking initiative, Sasuke then says "Sensei, what should we do during your resting period?"

Kakashi looks at him, then quickly determines the real reason. The silver-haired jonin looks at his students and says "One of you will protect the bridge builder at a time until I recover. The other two will train in the forest out back. Judging from his injuries and the near-death state, Zabuza should be out for a week. That gives us time to be a little lenient, but not too much. Anything can still happen."

Everyone nods, but Sakura seemed nervous. She fidgets a bit, and Kakashi sighs. "What is it Sakura?"

The pinkette flinches at being called out, but knows she can't back down now. She fidgets a bit more and looks away. "S-Sensei… what about when it is my turn to protect Tazuna-san? I-I'm not the most… offensive ninja."

Kakashi frowns as he takes in this information. He thought Sakura was a good ninja, but she had a point. Her training so far was oriented towards medical ninjutsu, not offensive ninjutsu. That needed to be changed. For now, he knew what to do.

He looks at Naruto and says "Naruto, can you send a shadow clone with Sakura to help her protect Tazuna?" Naruto nods, accepting the new mission quite easily. He grins and turns to Sakura, flashing a thumbs up. She just huffs in irritation, but on the inside she was relieved.

Despite his idiocy, Naruto was shaping up to be one hell of a ninja. His shadow clones, combined with his stupidly absurd levels of randomness and chakra made him train insanely quickly. For someone of his level, learning elemental chakra manipulation, let alone mastering it, was almost unheard of. Sakura was relieved to have even a shadow clone of his help her, even if she was a little jealous of his strength.

After Kakashi says the order of training, that being Sakura, Naruto, then Sasuke, they all went out of the house to train. Naruto creates a shadow clone and Sakura waves to them as she and the clone leave with Tazuna. The two remaining genin then move to the forest to train.

* * *

I look around the forest clearing that I could remember quite clearly. This was the place I first learned wall climbing, an essential skill for shinobi. I sigh as I look at the three trees we used, unmarked and standing tall… so far.

I grin widely as an innate urge to blow something up enters my mind. I don't care about what people said about me and my stoic attitude, I still fucking LOVE blowing shit up.

With my train of thought stuck on jutsu of incredibly spectacular scales, I decide to try testing my new heightened reserves. I had big reserves in my previous life, but this was definitely more than before. The possibilities are endless!

First things first though, I decide to run through my jutsu arsenal from the previous time. I know the Fireball, Phoenix Flower, and Dragon Flame jutsu, but nothing else. Let's see what I have.

I frown, blocking out the sounds of Naruto creating his shadow clones. I have… let's see… Chidori? Maybe, but not yet. Amaterasu… no, I don't have the Mangekyo sharingan yet. Kirin? I don't have Amaterasu for storms. That leaves… Indra's Arrow.

I frown as I think of this. That was a technique I developed alongside Naruto in a last ditch effort to defeat Kaguya after we failed the first time. Combining mine and Naruto's powers, Naruto sent two massive Rasenshuriken infused with elemental releases, while I sent a massive arrow of lightning at her. It didn't kill her, and the chakra used was too much, but the damage it did was immense. Maybe… no, that couldn't work… could it?

My thoughts switch into overdrive as I think more and more on this possibility. In the end, Indra's Arrow was nothing more than some fine chakra manipulation and some massive amounts of chakra. There was no way I could make an arrow that big again with my Susanoo, but maybe I could make one smaller… like an actual bow.

My eyebrows furrow as I try this theory. It was a simple concept, but pulling it off was another story. I needed to shape my chakra to form not only a bow, but also the arrow. In hindsight, maybe a bit of yin chakra would be needed. At least I can use that still…

I can feel my chakra flow through my body, my yin chakra splitting slightly and ready to be used. I'll keep it there in case, but for now I'll try just pure lightning chakra. I flow the chakra into my hands, shaping it appropriately. It begins to form, exiting my hand, the loud crackling being heard quite easily. Next, the chakra begins to form the limbs of the bow. It was working, actually working!

BOOM

My thoughts are derailed instantly as the lightning chakra fluctuates violently, then explodes in my hands. I'm sent flying backwards, slamming into a tree and leaving a good sized indent.

"Teme?!" I can hear Naruto running towards me, but I don't care. I shake my head, trying to remove the ringing in my ears. "FUCK that hurt!"

Naruto kneels down next to me and says "Sasuke? What did you just do? Your hands are all red and black, and there was that massive explosion too."

I grit my teeth, finally feeling Kurama healing my head and hands. Damn fox probably got a kick out of that. The chuckling I hear from my head confirms it.

I frown, ignoring Kurama for now. "I was just trying to make a new jutsu. I thought I could do it with just my lightning chakra, but I need something else now."

Naruto's eyes widen, then he grins. "A new jutsu?! Is this the one you were going to show me?!"

I look at Naruto in confusion. "The one I was going to… wait… oh fuck." I groan and put my head into my hands as I remember my promise on graduation day. I can't believe the idiot remembered!

I sigh, then say "No Naruto, that is not the jutsu I was going to teach. I have something in mind, but it'll be a bit before I can do it." I wasn't lying either. I was planning on teaching Naruto the Fireball Jutsu, since he has that insane fire affinity. He would make a literal INFERNO with good teaching.

Naruto frowns, then just nods his head. As he gets up and walks away, instantly going back to his wind training. I hope I didn't upset him, but he didn't look upset either…

I frown and get up as well, walking back to where I once was. It's obvious that I can't just use lightning chakra on this technique. I need yin chakra to form the bow, keep it stabilized. That's what it was for anyways, making things from my imagination.

As I stop in my spot, I breathe out in concentration. I needed to focus. My hand goes out, and I guide my chakra. Lightning and Yin. Form the limbs. The crackling of electricity is heard. Form the middle. Form the string. Reinforce it with Yin chakra. I can feel it now. I grip the middle tightly. Form the arrow. I can feel it forming. It needs more chakra. More. More… There.

I breathe out once more, then open my eyes. They narrow in absolute concentration, my sharingan activating on pure reflex. The arrow was crackling with power, the area around me humming. I hold the bow in a certain stance, pull the string back, and let it fly.

The arrow of lightning streaks through the air in a split second. A trail of lighting was made from its flight, but the real spectacle was from the arrow's impact. The arrow slams into a tree, but it doesn't penetrate the tree. Instead, it explodes violently. A web of lightning branches around the tree and through the air, seeming to make its own tree of pure lightning.

I gasp in awe, not expecting such results. Then, the pain hits me. I grunt in pain and fall to one knee, gasping for breath. Seems like the attack took a lot of chakra to use, a little too much for my current level. I chuckle, watching as the tree of lightning disappears, leaving nothing but a pile of ash. "I guess this is a last resort, but was it damn worth it."

I then hear Naruto running at me, screaming his head off. I sigh and turn to him. This is going to be a pain to deal with, but now I have a stupid OP jutsu under my belt. One step closer to beating Kaguya…

* * *

Haku was an incredibly skilled kunoichi. She was ruthless when needed and faster than most jonin. She had larger reserves than most females, and could easily evade hunter-nin. She has seen countless deaths, some so violent that most people would vomit in disgust, with a straight face. She's even seen jutsu of incredible power, enough to keep even Zabuza-sama worried. However, she has never felt any sort of fear from that. Now though, she could feel fear.

This bow in front of her was beyond her capabilities to handle. She saw him form the bow of lightning from chakra alone, something extremely rare in jonin, and should be impossible for some new genin. And yet, he pulled it off.

Intrigued by what the results could be, the fake hunter-nin watched the results. She never felt more terrified than she did at that moment.

The best way to describe the results was as if lightning had erupted from the tree at all angles, completely consuming it in a tree of pure electricity before covering the whole area in a blanket of blinding white light. She had to cover her eyes lest she lose her sight to the whole thing.

Once the light died down, she was left in awe. The tree, standing tall and proud moments before, was nothing more than ash. Intricate markings surrounded the blast zone, as if the lightning itself was creating a mark of its presence and dominance. There was a perfect circle of scorched or burnt grass all around the middle.

She frowns, then turns away, jumping across the trees. Even if she was skeptical of the whole thing with the Hokage, she couldn't deny his words of how powerful these genin were. And she was certain they would only get stronger.

She didn't know how much of an understatement that was.

 **-Author Notes-**

 **Is it bad I am saying I want to make Sasuke OP after 15 chapters? I don't want him too OP at first, but the kid is going to go ham after some things happen. This is a taste of just how quickly and effectively this man can train with the mentality of an 18 year old. I hope you enjoyed!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Have I said how much I love shadow clones? Those things are stupid strong. I mean, sure, they have a lot of chakra needed, but get past that and you have something more broken than even the Sharingan, and that's saying something!

I mean, come on. You can compact years of training into a month with enough of the things, or at least cut the training time in half with just one. Not to mention the countless possibilities involved in battle with them.

Now, what happens if you have hundreds of these things, or maybe the sharingan in each of them? Answer, you get things DONE.

I'm talking about literally a year's worth of training in a few days. I feel kind of bad for Sakura now. She's going to be left in the dust at this rate.

I can't complain much though. Me and Naruto were getting stronger, and FAST. But… maybe I should recap everything and explain. It'll be easier to understand.

 **-Flashback-**

I sigh as Naruto runs over to me in a panic. I should've expected this with my jutsu. Indra's Arrow isn't exactly 'subtle', in any sense of the word.

Naruto appears in front of me and instantly screams "Sasuke! I saw that big explosion of lightning, and it was all cool, and I thought maybe I could do it, but then I remembered you were over here so I came to check out WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

At this point, Naruto was staring at the smoldering circle of scorched earth from where my attack hit. It was roughly twenty feet in diameter, and there was nothing but black, burnt ground in the circle.

I sigh again and say "It was my jutsu I am working on. Hopefully I'll have it refined by the time Zabuza reappears."

Naruto looks at me, then says "How… how are you so strong?! WHY are you so strong?"

I raise an eyebrow and say "What do you mean?"

Naruto throws his arms in the air and says "I mean this! This power… it came out of nowhere! Sure, you were strong, but this is crazy! How are you doing this?!"

My body froze as I hear Naruto's declaration. I mentally curse as I realize that Naruto was demanding answers for the sudden changes. I can't tell him of the future, he isn't mature enough to handle it. I need an excuse… like the Akatsuki. Itachi was in the Akatsuki, and the Akatsuki were hunting jinchuriki. I am a jinchuriki now, and so is Naruto, so… I know what to say.

I sit down wearily, looking down at the ground. Naruto raises an eyebrow, then sits next to me. I look up at him, and his eyes widen. My eyes were ones of exhaustion, haunted by a past no one my age should have. Naruto had the same look in his eyes.

After I process this, I finally say "I am training harder than ever before Naruto. I need to… if I want to survive the upcoming storm."

Naruto raises an eyebrow and says "Storm? What storm?"

I look at the ground, then say "There is a group coming after our kind Naruto. There is a group hunting jinchuriki and the bijuu."

Naruto's eyes widen immensely at this bold statement. People hunting the BIJUU?! Those beasts were forces of nature, so much more powerful than anything else! How could a group HUNT them?!

The disbelief in Naruto's expression was all I needed to continue explaining. "I can see your disbelief. Yes, fighting the bijuu is a suicide mission, but not for these guys."

My expression grows solemn as I remember my time in Akatsuki, and I learned of their members. "This group, all their members, they are insanely strong. Each of them are S-ranked missing nin, and a few of them can face even the Kage and win. But their abilities, their goals, they are too horrible to be considered even human anymore."

I breathe out in absolute exhaustion and weakness. This is new, showing off my problems to others. It felt… relieving though, just like when I told Naruto and Sakura of the Uchiha Clan massacre. "I'm training to fight monsters. All of them, monsters. And you know what? Even my brother is part of it."

I look at Naruto as he stares at me in shock. "You remember my dream Naruto, my goal? I told you I needed to kill someone, right?"

Naruto nods, and I continue with a hard gaze. "That someone is part of this group. The man who ruined my life from the very beginning."

My fists clench as I remember his face. Madara Uchiha, the man who corrupted Obito into the monster he is now. A fellow Uchiha driven so far into insanity he was willing to cast a world wide genjutsu to have an illusion of peace.

I growl slightly, eyes flashing red. "He took everything from me, and I am going to make him pay. But… the man is so strong… so incredibly strong that I can't even hold a candle to him where I am now. I need to train, get stronger, and face him before he can fuck everything else up too."

Naruto looks at me for a long while, then begins slowly. "So… there is a group of S-ranked missing nin hunting you and me and whoever else is a jinchuriki, and are so strong that you need to be at least kage level to beat them? And your brother, who murdered your whole clan, is part of the group?"

I nod solemnly. Putting it like that made it sound impossible. I chuckle grimly and say "At least we have three years to prepare. Other than that, I don't know much." It wasn't that big a lie. I was secluded and half-insane when I actually paid attention to the Akatsuki. Anything about the members I learned, other than Deidara, were from reports and stories.

Naruto frowns again, then says "Sasuke?" I turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He turns to me with a grin and says "If that's our goal, then I'll train with you! We'll keep things from becoming more fucked up."

My mouth twitches, then grins at what Naruto said. "Only you can make something sound so sentimental yet so stupid."

Naruto's grin drops instantly and is replaced with rage. "HEY! I am trying to help here! Don't insult me teme!"

I just laugh loudly, making Naruto confused. I wave him off, then get to begin training some more. He follows, rapidly deducing what i was doing. It felt nice to know that I had help. Not so overwhelming. Maybe… we really can pull off the impossible.

* * *

Things went pretty smoothly from then on out. I explained the situation to Sakura too, knowing she was the only one who didn't know. She was really freaked out about it, but seeing mine and Naruto's resolve seemed to strengthen her own. She threw herself into training with a fierce determination. Seemed like she was going to become as strong as us if she continued like this.

Naruto and I kept on training, abusing the ever living hell out of shadow clones. I didn't have much to give Naruto, so we went to Kakashi for help. He seemed to expect this as he handed Naruto a scroll full of wind jutsu. Naruto seemed to take a liking to one called Millennia Turmoil. I have no clue what it does, but it sounds strong.

I on the other hand used my new training method to regain some of the muscle memory I lost. My sharingan and the seal kept most of it, but my body was still adjusting to a small form. It was quick progress so far.

I also begin playing around with my lightning element. Beyond refining Indra's Arrow to the point of making three small arrows, or one massively powerful arrow that's explosion area was comparable to Naruto's Rasenshuriken in power, I just played around with the element. I was adverse in fire, but lightning always interested me more. It was volatile, wild, and extremely strong. It could be shaped more than flames, and it could DO so much more too. Stimulate nerves, numb the senses, cover a wide area, penetrate a single target with ease, the options are endless.

So, as the messed up person I am who loves all things flashy, I played with it. While my clones busied themselves with re-learning the chidori and its variants, I messed with my lightning. I shaped it, made it go between point A and point B, tried doing different things. It yielded interesting results for jutsu I might make. And then there was that one time… I could've sworn the leaf shined like metal. Eh, whatever.

So, all together, we've gotten pretty good. My fighting style came back with a vengeance, and my speed is quickly increasing. I even tried using lightning chakra in it and got interesting results. I relearned the Chidori and Chidori Spear, along with refining Indra's Arrow to usable levels. I didn't really need training with the Sharingan, but I kept it on anyways.

Naruto was becoming a behemoth of a ninjutsu user. Along with Gale Palm jutsu, he now stated he knew this Millennia Turmoil jutsu. Still no fucking clue what it does, but it sounds strong. He also learned the Gale Force jutsu, but really it was just a powered down version of Great Breakthrough. Naruto said he was in the process of that jutsu though...

We also tried a couple collaboration techniques. Our Wind Style: Demon Wind Shuriken jutsu was fun, but we needed more. So, we mixed the few jutsu we had and tried to make something. Beyond the numerous times we were nearly knocked unconscious from them backfiring, there was one that worked. It was rough and needed to be refined, more refined than the time we had in Wave, to be usable, but it would be powerful once completed.

Sakura… that girl was born to be a medic. She focused mainly on her medical jutsu, and the kid is a prodigy. She managed to get it to the point that she could heal mine and Naruto's third degree burns with ease, WHILE chewing us out for being so reckless. We made pretty good test dummies.

Oh! Kakashi also recovered in just a couple days too. He began watching Tazuna so we can all three train. Then there was the one day we didn't have to guard Tazuna, mainly because he didn't go to work that day. That was an interesting day for multiple reasons…

 **-Flashback Numero Dos-**

It had been just two days since the battle with Zabuza. Already Kakashi was able to move around freely. He would still need a couple days before he can go all out in battle again. He opted to begin guarding Tazuna so we could all train.

Now, we were all coming together for a big meal. It still wasn't much, but for what the family had, it was a feast. We all chatted, clearly cheerful. If only it stayed that way.

All throughout the meal, Inari was just sitting there, glaring. He never spoke, but he had an aura saying otherwise. I found my eyes constantly drifting to him warily.

"So, Kakashi, how is your team doing on that training of your's?" I turn to Tazuna, realizing the bridge builder was talking about us.

Kakashi eye smiles and says "It's going quite smoothly. In fact, my little genin are turning into quite the powerful bunch. I bet Sasuke could even hold his own against Zabuza."

Those present at the battle could safely agree. Shadow clones did wonders for training, and Sasuke was a prodigy. I totally didn't drown in the praise. Totally didn't.

Anyways, Tazuna looks at me with a skeptical eye and says "Really now? That's quite impressive from what I saw of that man."

I nod in agreement, and am about to speak, when a loud bang is heard. Everyone turns to Inari, startled, as the small boy just glares at me and Naruto. "All of this training, it's useless! It doesn't mean anything! Gato's just going to kill you."

It took me one second to realize the kid was crying. Naruto looks at the kid once, then lays his head on the table. "Speak for yourself kid. It won't be like that for me or my team." I took note that he said just 'me' last time, so this was an improvement.

Inari's ire seems to grow at that as he screams "Why don't you just be quiet! You don't know anything about this country or its people! You all are just butting in!"

He growls and leers at Naruto. "Just looking at you makes me sick. Always smiling and laughing! And you!" He stares at me directly this time. "You are always joking around with him! You both are clueless! You don't know what it's like to suffer and treated like dirt!"

The air around the table grew heavy. Naruto's eyes shadowed, and Sakura was barely controlling herself. I frown deeply, my eyes only short of a glare. Naruto, his eyes hidden by his bangs, says "Look at you, crying like some little victim. Whine all you want, I don't care. But you are nothing but a coward!"

Naruto's eyes flash blue from the shadows, making Inari to stop glaring at step back in shock. Naruto just gets up and leaves without another word. Sakura looks at Inari disapprovingly, then walks off to find Naruto.

I glare at Inari, sharingan flashing menacingly. "You said the worst possible thing to us brat. I just hope you learn better." With that, I turn and leave.

Tazuna and Tsunami turn to Inari, who was now sniffling a lot. The kid then turns and runs upstairs to his room without a word. Tsunami's eyes widen and she yells "Inari! Wait!" But… she gets no response.

She puts her hand down slowly, then sighs in sadness. She turns to Kakashi with a critical eye and says "I hope you have an explanation of why your team acted as they did."

Kakashi looks at her with a similar glare, Inari's statement bringing up unwanted memories. "I have the perfect reason."

Kakashi looks between them, casting a subtle genjutsu to actually show them images while explaining. "My team has gone through some very trying times. More so than most in the world."

The first image conjured showed a lonely Sasuke, augmented with the whiskers marks and slit pupils. "Sasuke's whole family was killed by his brother at just eight years old. Not only that, but he was constantly seen as 'the Last Uchiha' and not Sasuke. It made him irritable and depressed. He only just recently began recovering."

Next showed a pre-academy Sakura in a park, curled into a ball and crying. "While not nearly as bad as her teammates, Sakura had a rough early life. Before she went to the academy, she was bullied constantly, almost to the point of her running away. She was lucky to have met her friend Ino before then, or else things would've gotten bad."

Finally, the last picture showed Naruto on the street, eyes shadowed and mouth quivering. The villagers glaring at the young boy was not lost on Tazuna or Tsunami. "And Naruto arguably has it the worst. He is an orphan, having no family within the village. Not only that, but he was shunned for something beyond his control, treated as if he never existed."

The genjutsu fades, and the two hosts are left speechless. Tazuna is the first to recover as he says "Damn, those kids had it harder than even we do."

Tsunami just looks at Kakashi with a pitiful look. "How can children so young be forced to experience such horrible things?"

Kakashi closes his lone eye and says "It's the world of ninja. We always have high dangers and mentally traumatic experiences. There is little we can do to prevent it, but we persevere. It is something we do all the time."

Kakashi then turns around and says "I just hope that Inari's rant didn't affect them too much."

* * *

None of us got out of that rant unscathed, well, except for maybe Sakura. Still, she seemed irked at what the kid had said, if only because she knew of mine and Naruto's past now.

We all instinctively went to the forest, the one place we've been together the most other than the house. But with Inari there, no one wanted to stay.

Naruto was mumbling the whole way, saying things like "Stupid brat. Don't know what it's like to suffer. Doesn't know my life."

Sakura was walking with Naruto, trying to comfort him the whole time. I was silent, my body tense and eyes shadowed.

" _Why nii-san?! Why?!"_

I grit my teeth. That rant brought up unwanted memories.

" _Hate me, and grow stronger. Hate me, and fight me when you have the same eyes I do."_

My fists clench. We are almost to the forest.

" _This is the end Itachi! I will strike you down!"_

Tears begin to fall.

" _Remember. No matter what happens, I will always love you, Sasuke-kun."_

We were in the forest. Naruto was training now, venting his frustration with an all out brawl.

" _Become Hokage Naruto. Do what I failed to follow all those years ago."_

It was reaching a climax. Please don't.

" _Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura! Run, get out of here! I'll hold her off!"_

" _SENSEI!"_

Something was building up. Chakra?

" _I-I'll always love you S-Sasuke-kun. I-I forgive y-you."_

" _Sakura… why…"_

Red. Rage. Anger. Grief. Pain.

" _Don't forget me teme. Save the world for us."_

That was the final straw.

* * *

A presence falls upon the forest, and the entirety of the island, those who felt it shivered in fear. This was not normal, and yet, it _was._ Those who felt it only knew one thing.

 _Pain. Grief. Anger. An ancient power driven to rage by pure anguish. The sky erupts in flames as lightning arcs across it. The beast roars from the heavens, showering the world in its pain. It wanted only one thing. Vengeance._

Zabuza looks to the sky and shivers instinctively in fear. Under this power, he was nothing but prey, a simple animal to a greater power. He frowns and says "What is this?"

* * *

Tazuna grips his chest in fear as the unnatural feeling washes over him. Tsunami gasps in fear and nearly drops her plate in the process, barely keeping herself up right. Inari turns away from the ocean with tears, gaping in the direction of the source of this overwhelming sensation. Somehow, he knew he was responsible for this.

Kakashi turns to the forest with a hard gaze. Wasting no time, he runs out of the house. " _This feels like the Kyuubi, but it isn't the same. Never have I felt such a power feel sadness."_

* * *

Haku freezes from picking herbs. She turns to a random direction in the forest. "That is… troubling."

Somehow she knew this was the boy from before. What is she and her master getting into?

* * *

Naruto and Sakura freeze in absolute fear. Sasuke had disappeared into the forest shortly after arriving, and they let him go. He needed to vent as well. Then… then came the anguish. A feeling of overwhelming suffering that they could never comprehend.

And somehow, they knew it was Sasuke. They quickly began running to his location. It showed how much they bonded with the boy that they could push past his overwhelming killing intent.

The two enter a small clearing, then nearly fall unconscious instantly. Instead, they get major headaches and stumble a bit.

In the center of the clearing, Sasuke was gripping his head in pain. He was crying, but his tears were evaporating almost as soon as they left his eyes. His teeth were gritted, but no one missed the most disturbing changes.

His fingernails were sharpened like claws, and his teeth were now fangs. His whisker marks were thickened, and his slit eyes burned red with pure anger. And all around his body was a bubbling cloak of volatile red chakra, a single tail extending behind Sasuke from the cloak.

Naruto and Sakura stared with wide eyes. Sakura was terrified of this creature in front of her. And yet, she wished to comfort it. She was connected to it. _She could calm the beast._

Naruto was more affected than Sakura. He knew that this was the Kyuubi. The beast was raging, and yet it felt sad. He knew he could do something about it. _He was one with the beast._

The two moved cautiously forward. Sasuke paid them no mind, simply screaming in pain and rage as memories flooded his mind. His teammates reach his body. They were uncertain what to do. Then… they knew.

Sakura wraps her arms around Sasuke. The boy tenses dangerously, but Sakura doesn't react. She just holds him in a calm embrace.

Naruto places a hand on Sasuke's back. Sasuke could feel the connection, and eases somewhat.

They were in this position for who knows how long, surrounded by this horrifying presence. Then, it finally begins to die down. Eventually, Sasuke falls unconscious, overwhelmed by the Kyuubi's chakra and the memories he was forced to recall.

Naruto and Sakura embrace their teammate, their friend, _their brother._ Without another word, they all asleep, if only to keep Sasuke protected from his nightmares.

* * *

Kakashi lands in the clearing and instantly finds his team their, fast asleep. The oppressive feeling was gone know, he knew things were better. The scorch marks on Sasuke's skin told him what happened.

He sighs, then walks forwards. If anything, he can be here with them. He sits down, then quickly falls asleep.

 _The guardian of the red eye watches his kin, protecting them from harm. None shall harm them under his guidance and gaze._

 _And the Ice Queen knew this well._

 **-Author Notes-**

 **PTSD is a horrible thing. I think it's safe to say Sasuke has it hard after all he's gone through.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Deep within the forest, in a small clearing, were four people. Three of them, only children, slept peacefully on the ground. They were all huddled together, with two of them surrounding the third. The third seemed to be shivering occasionally, before calming down as he feels another child's touch.

The fourth was a tall man. Dressed in a flak jacket and loose clothing, it was obvious he was a ninja. He, along with the children, all wore a headband with a metal plate on it. On each plate was a leaf.

Kakashi was still sleeping peacefully. Not completely, but peacefully. He still had his ANBU training fresh in his mind. He never let his guard down in foreign places.

It was this fact that he finally decides to speak up. "Come on out, hunter-san. I know you are present."

He hears a woosh of air, then the soft, almost inaudible, sound of someone landing on the ground. Kakashi opens his single uncovered eye and takes in the person in front of them.

They were wearing a long kimono, typical of a simple traveler. It was also loose, and their body was tense, giving him the impression of a ninja. They also had feminine features. If it wasn't for his incredible sense of smell picking up the specific smell, he would've been hard pressed to determine the person's gender.

The girl in front of him smiles calmly and says "I did not mean to startle you ninja-san. I was simply getting herbs for my master."

Kakashi's single eye narrows slightly and he says "Drop the act Haku. You should know the deal already."

The girl, Haku, tenses, then sighs audibly. "It seems that the letter is becoming more authentic." She looks up at Kakashi and says "Is it true? That you will give us a safe refuge in the Leaf?"

Kakashi nods slightly. "Every word. There are no lies within it. Although, we are ninja. My word won't be enough, will it?"

Haku shakes her head. "No, it will not be enough. However, I do have one way of checking."

She pulls out a single senbon, a clear substance dripping slightly off the tip. "This senbon has a truth potion on it. It will not let you tell a lie as long as it is applied. I made this to verify your claims."

Kakashi's eye narrows in suspicion. A truth potion did just as it says, but there were ways to work around it. Half-truths, small details, important things can be left out. Still… this could be a poison for all he knew.

The jonin puts a hand out and says "Let me see it. I need to know it is only a truth serum."

Haku nods and hands him the needle. Kakashi lifts up his headband, then looks at the serum carefully. He could analyze small movements and thickness like this, letting him see what he couldn't smell.

After a couple moments, he pulls down his headband, and twirls the senbon. "It really is a truth serum. No lies, no secret ingredients. Let's begin then."

With that, he slashes the senbon across his arm, making a thin line across his arm. He tosses the senbon back, already feeling the effects.

Haku puts the senbon away, then looks at Kakashi. "First. Was the letter sent by the Hokage?"

Kakashi nods. Haku files the info away, then says "Second. Is the information and deal authentic?"

Kakashi nods once more. Now came the moment of truth. Her eyes narrow and she says "Finally, where did you get the information on me and my master?"

Kakashi freezes ever so slightly, then relaxes again. He knew the answer. "That is an S-classed secret that you will learn when we return. I cannot give away any more information, lest I get executed."

Haku frowns as she hears this. An S-class secret? On them? That didn't make any sense. Sure, her and Zabuza are high-priority targets for Kiri, but not S-class. Something wasn't right here…

Outwardly, she simply nods and says "That will be all then. I assume the plan is still in motion then?"

Kakashi nods once. "Continue following what the letter says. Remember to prepare more for the mob Gato will bring, not my students, even if they will be a pain."

Haku nods, then says "I will take my leave then. I believe your students are waking."

Kakashi glances at the small group in front of him and sees that they were shifting. He looks up again… and Haku was gone. Not a single trace. Kakashi sighs, then turns to his students again. Time to finish things up.

 **-Flashback End-**

That was a few days ago. That was towards the beginning of the week. The 7 day period was coming to a close. Soon, we would have to face Zabuza and Haku. But there was one last thing I needed to do.

I found myself once more in the forest training grounds, alongside Naruto. This was our last day of training, and I had something in plan for the young genin.

I turn around to face Naruto and say "Alright Naruto, it's time for you to learn my secret jutsu."

Naruto's eyes widens, and then his face lights up with a massive grin. I smirk in response and say "You've seen me use it, so I guess it isn't much of a secret. You are going to learn the Fireball jutsu."

Naruto once more lights up and is about to say something, but I put a finger up to stop him. "No comments, just questions, and GOOD questions, got it?" Naruto nods, his mouth closing shut.

I then say "I'm going to do the Fireball jutsu. I just want you to watch what I do. The hand signs, how I mold my chakra, and so forth. Alright?" Naruto once more nods.

With that, I turn around, and begin. I form the hand signs slowly so Naruto can see them clearly. Horse. Tiger. Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.

After the hand signs are done, I circulate my chakra. It heats up, the cooled chakra forming a protective coating from the super hot chakra. It flows into my throat, and I inhale deeply.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" With a mighty bellow, I form a ring in front of my mouth and blow through it. A massive wave of flames forms in front of me, nicking the ground and barely missing the trees.

Eventually, I let it die done and view my work. It was a decent sized area for what I used to do. At this point in time from my previous life though, I was much weaker.

I turn around and say "Did you catch anything Naruto?" Naruto looks at me, then nods his head. He then says "I think I got enough to try it. Can I?"

I eye him, then shrug. "Go ahead. But be warned, you haven't had any fire manipulation training. It's going to be difficult, even with your affinity."

Naruto nods, but otherwise doesn't respond. He walks up to where I once stood as I step to the side. He takes a deep breath, and his eyes narrow in determination.

His hands move slowly, forming the hand signs at a slow pace. He frowns deeply as he tries to form his chakra. He feels it heat up, and he brings it up.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto breathes outs, but it wasn't a fireball. It wasn't a wave. It wasn't anything that small. No, this was a TSUNAMI of FIRE.

The flames Naruto spewed out matched Madara's in pure size, and my own in intensity. I can only gape with wide eyes at the rolling wave of red and orange, burning anything it came in contact with.

Naruto finally stops, and I look over the pure devastation that Naruto just put on the forest. For at least a good 100 feet, there was only black. On the outskirts of this were a few flickering flames, strong, but not enough to stay alive.

I shake my head and say "I… I can't believe this. NOt only on your first try, but THIS POWERFUL?! How did you do that Naruto?" I don't hear an answer. Curious, I turn around.

I see Naruto standing there, his eyes shadowed by his bangs. I walk over cautiously. "Naruto?" I frown as Naruto begins to shake.

Then, out of nowhere, he jumps into the air, fire spewing out of his mouth and eyes wide. "HHHHOOOOTTTT!"

Naruto begins to run around like a headless chicken, screaming all the while. I just blink in utter shock and surprise. What… the hell?

Inwardly I can hear Kurama laughing his ass off, making a little too much noise for me. I barely notice though and simply watch as Naruto keeps running around. It took Naruto ramming into a tree face first to snap me out of my stuper.

I shake my head, then laugh loudly. Naruto rubs his head, then growls at me. "What's so funny teme?!"

I just laugh some more, and manage to say "O-Only you Naruto! Only you!"

Naruto raises an eyebrow as I fall on the ground, laughing a storm now. Naruto frowns and crosses his arms, cheeks puffing out childishly. "It's not funny."

Eventually, I manage to reign myself in. After my laughter dims to a few chuckles, I walk over to Naruto. "A-Alright Naruto. I think I know your issue."

I gesture for him to stand up, and he does so. I then say "You didn't protect yourself from the heated chakra. You need to use some unused chakra to form a cool layer around the chakra in your system."

Naruto tilts his head, then seems to realize what I mean. He nods, then turns to his destruction once more. He does the hand signs, then breathes out once more.

The flames were a little smaller, but still much bigger than most shinobi can ever hope to form. This time, as Naruto ends the jutsu, he didn't seem to be burned as much.

I nod in satisfaction and say "Good. Now try again. I'll join in."

Naruto nods eagerly, and we begin practicing our Fireball Jutsu. Good thing too. Tomorrow we would fight Zabuza and Haku. And this time, we are more than enough for those two.

 **A/N**

 **A bit of a shorter chapter, but I needed to get this out of the way. Next chapter we will begin the bridge fight!**

 **Also for those who read the previous version, Naruto is now learning the Fireball Jutsu instead of the Chidori. Thanks for those correcting me on the mistake.**

 **Please Review if you can! Hope you enjoyed!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The day was just like any other day. There was nothing to discern from any other day. The sky was bright, the people were still moving about to get their many chores done to feed their families.

I knew otherwise. Today was the day. It has been one week since we fought Zabuza. We were all preparing to leave with Tazuna, in order to keep him protected. I take a subtle glance to Kakashi, and he glances at me.

He forms a cross-shaped hand sign, and a shadow clone pops up behind him. It jumps away instantly, no one even noticing, save for Naruto, but he only heard the sound. He frowns in confusion, then turns back forwards, tense. I smirk to myself. That training is getting to him. He would've ignored it last time, not stay on guard.

Me and Kakashi formulated a plan for today over night. He was worried about me staying up late, thanks to that… outburst I had a couple days ago, but I was fine. It's in the past…

Anyways, we decided to have Kakashi leave a shadow clone for those thugs Naruto took care of last time. Other than that, our plan was simple. Go to the bridge, and kick some ass. Perfect.

With everything set to go, we depart for the bridge. We had to move at a civilian pace because of Tazuna, but it was fine. I conversed with Naruto and Sakura, both for myself, and them. I could tell they were still worried about me. I needed them to see I was fine now.

It didn't take too long for us to reach the bridge. And once more, we found a haunting sight. Workers, strewn about the bridge, some simply injured and unconscious, others unnaturally still… As much as I'd like to keep deaths to a minimum, we needed Zabuza to still be seen as against us. He had to do this…

I was ripped from my thoughts as the mist begins forming over the bridge. My eyes narrow and dart around, trying to find where Zabuza and Haku were. Even if this was similar to last time, I didn't need to be caught off guard somehow.

Sakura shivers and looks around in fear as the bridge is completely blocked off from sight. I frown, and my eyes widen slightly as I activate my Sharingan. I see Kakashi frowning as well, a kunai in hand, but close to his headband. Naruto was gritting his teeth, glaring at the mist, his hands clenched at his side.

"Well Kakashi, seems like you are still tugging those brats around with you." My eyes snap over to the cloud in front of us, and I see two figures in the mist. Zabuza and Haku finally showed themselves.

Zabuza chuckles, his disembodied voice coming from the mist, but never from a specific point. As he does this, multiple copies of Zabuza emerge from the mist. Each one of them were grinning widely under their masks, a grim satisfaction in their eyes.

"And look at that one. He's even shaking in fear." My eyes widen slightly, and I look at my hands. They were in fact shaking. But I didn't feel fear. I smirk slightly as I realize what this was. It happened last time, and it was happening again.

I smirk at the clones and say "I'm not afraid. I'm excited." The clones all seem to look at me with wary expressions as a grin forms on my face. The fangs and slit eyes must make me look like some sort of predator.

Kakashi lowers his kunai slightly, guarding his chest in sacrifice of quickly revealing his Sharingan. "Sasuke, go for it."

My grin widens, and chakra rushes into my limbs. The world moved in slow motion as I moved at full speed. I stop at each clone, using a kunai to slice a lethal point before moving to the next. The clones couldn't do anything but gape at me in surprise and shock. I flicker back to my team, and all the clones disperse into water. This took only one second.

Naruto blinks, then goes wide eyed. "What the hell?! So fast!" Sakura nods in shock, looking at me in surprise. I just grin at the mist, the thrill of battle already coursing through me.

It was at this point Zabuza and Haku disperse the mist slightly, showing themselves and the mist covered battleground behind them. Zabuza eyes me and says "Brat's fast. What the hell kind of training did you put them through Kakashi?"

Kakashi just eye smiles and says "Oh, this is their own training. I had nothing to do with it."

Beside Zabuza, Haku shivers momentarily. Not enough to notice if you weren't watching, but my Sharingan was up. I see, and frown. That was a shiver of fear. Why was Haku afraid? She was a steel wall last time, nothing fazing her but Zabuza's death.

I push the thoughts to the side as Zabuza lowers his sword. It hits the bridge with a loud crash, cracking the ground slightly. "Well, enough pleasantries. You know what I want Kakashi."

Kakashi frowns, his cheerful demeanor instantly dropping. "And you know my answer."

Zabuza chuckles and says "Well, let's settle this then. Haku, you take the brats. Kakashi is mine."

Haku nods, looking at me and Naruto. I frown and say "Sakura, you protect Tazuna. Me and Naruto will take care of the fake hunter-nin." Sakura nods, grateful she didn't need to fight front lines. She still only knew the basics and medic ninjutsu. She didn't know any good combat techniques like Naruto and Sasuke.

I eye Haku, and Zabuza chuckles once more. "Let's begin." With that, him and Haku jump back into the mist. Me, Naruto, and Kakashi all follow at the same time, each of us jumping into our own fights.

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza skid to a stop in front of each other. Zabuza's predatory grin drops, and he says "Do we really need to fight Kakashi? If what your Hokage said is true, then we'll need energy for the mob later."

Kakashi sighs, then says "We need to make it believable. At most, no lethal techniques. Alright?"

Zabuza shrugs, lifting his sword. "All techniques are lethal, but I'm assuming you mean the over-the-top ones. Fine by me."

With that, the mist seems to form around Zabuza, masking him from Kakashi's vision. His lone eye narrows, and he pushes up his headband, revealing his Sharingan. He takes a shuddering breath, the chakra drain already high. He forces himself to calm, and then analyzes the mist.

It was laced with chakra, too much for him to see. But… he could react to sudden attacks with it. Now, the question was, where was Zabuza?

"I realized something last time we fought Kakashi." Kakashi turns around to where the voice came from, but no one was there. His eyes dart around once more, searching for Zabuza.

"That eye of your's, the Sharingan, it requires direct eye contact to work its genjutsus. So… all I need to do is keep my eyes closed." Kakashi's eyes widen in realization.

Zabuza chuckles and says "You can tell. Too bad. I'm already well versed in moving without SIGHT!" Zabuza yells the last word as he dashes from the mist, his massive cleaver sword slicing through the air. Kakashi jumps out of the way, barely avoiding the blow.

As he turns to Zabuza, he curses mentally as he sees Zabuza's eyes closed. He was hoping for a flicker, just a slight opening of the eyelids. It was a natural response to when the eyes are closed. Obviously, Zabuza doesn't have this same flaw.

Before Kakashi can retaliate, Zabuza goes back into the mist, disappearing once more. Kakashi looks around, then says "Enough of this."

He forms the ram hand sign, then flares his chakra around him. The mist disperses rapidly, clearing the area and allowing Kakashi to instantly locate Zabuza a short distance away.

Zabuza tsks and opens his eyes, taking care not to look at Kakashi's eyes. "Guess we have to do this the old fashioned way."

With that, Zabuza dashes forwards, sword drawn back for a powerful swing. Kakashi swiftly dodges to the side, cringing slightly at the crater the sword made in the bridge. He then quickly ducks below the follow up swing, then lands on his hands and kicks the sword up and off its original course.

Kakashi quickly spins on his hands and launches himself backwards. As he does so, he quickly flashes through hand signs and yells "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball flies forwards from Kakashi's position. Zabuza quickly flashes through hand signs as well and yells "Water Style: Water Wall Wave!"

Zabuza brings his head back, pulling down the single covering over his mouth. He then shoots a gigantic wall of water in front of himself, and well over the fireball as well.

The fireball collides with the fireball and instantly disintegrates, unable to hold its form against its natural enemy. Kakashi watches this, then goes wide eyed as the wall begins to tilt… towards him.

Kakashi instantly flash through a few hand signs, then disappears as the water collapses upon his position. It cracks against the bridge, flowing out the sides and covering the battlefield in water.

Zabuza doesn't stop at the illusion that his jutsu worked. He instantly tenses, looking around for where Kakashi went. His eyes dart around, looking in all directions. All, but one.

The ground cracks beneath Zabuza, and his eyes widen in shock as a hand grabs his ankle. His body seems to flicker, but nothing happens. In fact, the hand tightens its grip as Kakashi appears from the ground.

He pulls on Zabuza's ankle, bringing the ninja over his head. He brings him forwards and slams the missing-nin into the ground. Kakashi eyes the body as it stills, then dissipates into water. No wonder Zabuza seemed to flicker.

Kakashi hears a whistling in the air and ducks once more, avoiding the side slash Zabuza just did. He flicks a kunai into his hand from his pouch and stops the next hit, grunting in exertion.

Zabuza's arm shakes in exertion, but he just chuckles. "You shouldn't have done that Kakashi. Demons are always STRONGER than MORTALS!"

The force on Kakashi's kunai seems to double, and Kakashi hisses in pain. His kunai cracks, and his eyes widen. He quickly jumps back, the sword slicing through the air in front of him. The sword almost cleaves through the whole bridge floor, and Kakashi eyes it with slight surprise.

He lands a good distance from Zabuza, then says "I thought we were doing no over-the-top jutsus."

Zabuza just shrugs and says "The Water Wall Wave jutsu is pretty easy to avoid. You could handle it."

Kakashi rolls his eyes, then grimaces as a pain sparks in his Sharingan. He blinks in surprise, then squints slightly. He could've sworn he saw some sort of black spiral…

Zabuza sees Kakashi's sudden change of attention and says "Oi, Kakashi! What's going on?"

Kakashi blinks, and the strange, small spiral in the air disappears. He shakes his head and says "Nothing, nothing. Let's continue"

With that, the Kakashi in front of Zabuza flickers slightly, then pops. Zabuza's eyes widen and he mutters "Son of a-!"

He turns around and brings his sword up with both hands, blocking the overhead cut Kakashi was swinging at him. The ground cracks slightly beneath him, and he grunts slightly in exertion and surprise. "What. The. Hell?!"

Kakashi jumps back, a trail of white light following his kunai. His kunai pops in smoke, and a short tanto is seen in Kakashi's hand. He brings it in front of his face, the blade flashing in the light. "It's been a while since I last used the Sabre. Seems it'll come into play now."

Kakashi had decided, along with a long list of other things to work on, to begin training with his father's Sabre once more. It still brought him painful memories, but according to his future (past?) self telling Team 7, his father and himself made peace in the afterlife. How that happened, he didn't know, but it did. It eased the pain a bit, and he was able to hold the Sabre without flashes of painful memories.

Zabuza narrows his eyes as he sees the short blade. He was once part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, so he knew all of the famous blades in the world. The White Light Chakra Sabre was one of them, and that blade Kakashi held was definitely it.

Zabuza glares at Kakashi and says "And who was complaining about going overboard?"

Kakashi eye smiles and says "I need to test it. Let's try this out."

Zabuza sighs, then shrugs again. "Whatever."

The two blur once more and meet in the center, both swords colliding with each other. Despite its small size, the short tanto held its ground. This was due to the potent white chakra within the blade, increasing its durability and cutting power significantly.

The two back off, then disappear. They reappear a short distance away, Kakashi defending against Zabuza's overhead swing. Once more they disappear, and this time Zabuza is backing away and defending from a quickly swinging Kakashi.

Kakashi goes for a forwards jab with the Sabre, and Zabuza slams his sword into the ground and vaults over it. Kakashi misses Zabuza and hits Kubikiriocho, putting a decent dent in the side of the blade.

On the other side, Zabuza lands and kicks his leg out, hitting the massive blade at the bottom. The blade shoots upwards, smacking Kakashi in the knees with the broad side of the sword. Kakashi's legs crumple momentarily and he falls to the ground.

Zabuza grabs his blade and brings it down quickly. Kakashi rolls to the side, pushes against the ground with his hands, and vaults upwards. His actions allow him to avoid the side slash Zabuza made, and he twists his body midair to land on Zabuza's sword.

Kakashi quickly kneels down and slaps a slip of paper on the sword and jumps away. Zabuza hears the sizzling and quickly grabs the paper and slaps it on the ground before using a Body Flicker to get out of the blast radius. The exploding tag unleashes its power in a giant ball of flame, covering the area in smoke.

Zabuza flies backwards out of the smoke, his sword in front of him. He rolls on the ground some, before sliding to a stop. He groans, then picks himself up. He frowns as he sees how damaged Kubikiriocho was.

He couldn't move fast enough from the explosion, only reaching the outer ring of the explosion. He had used his sword to block the damage, and he was paying the price for it.

Zabuza pulls out a scroll and seals his sword in it. It was in no condition for use, not in these circumstances. He couldn't just butcher meaninglessly this time, so he had no blood to repair it with.

He sighs and stands up. "Fuck you Kakashi. You broke my sword."

Kakashi body flickers next to him and levels him with a slightly amused glare. "You can always fix it later."

Zabuza just crosses his arms and glares for real, unlike Kakashi. "Define 'later'."

Kakashi shrugs. "I don't know." He eye smiles. "But I do know my sword is better."

Zabuza's eyes shadow, and he says "Taijutsu. Now."

Kakashi puts his hands up in a defensive stance, his Sabre already sealed away. "Ok, ok! No need to be pushy."

He lowers into a fighting stance, as Zabuza does so as well. Kakashi takes the time to notice Zabuza's rigid yet relaxed stance. It was an oddity, but if he had to guess, the fighting style would consist of hard hits flowing into each other. A nice combination of Zabuza's immense strength and incredible speed.

A similar thought went through Zabuza's head. Kakashi was relaxed, and in no way was he defending himself. He was confused as to what this style was. It didn't look like any he knew of before. Maybe Kakashi was best with a kunai, like he's so often seen, and not his fists.

They push their thoughts to the side, waiting to move. Suddenly, a single ice senbon lands in front of them, skidding across the bridge. Their eyes narrow, and they rush at each other.

True to Kakashi's prediction, Zabuza tries to throw a powerful punch at Kakashi's face. Kakashi ducks under the blow, arcing backwards. He snaps his leg up, but Zabuza was able to dodge the blow.

As his style went, Zabuza used the dodging motion of leaning backwards to drop completely and try to sweep Kakashi's legs out from under him.

Kakashi once again uses his hands to dodge the attack. He spins midair, before twisting and bringing a leg down on top of Zabuza's head. It hits with a sickening _crunch_ , and Zabuza is instantly floored.

Kakashi lands and rebounds off the ground, landing a short distance away. The Zabuza he hit disperses into water, and Kakashi narrows his eyes. He turns, then goes wide eyed as he sees Zabuza throwing a kick. He brings his arms up to block, and does so successfully. But, he grunts in pain at the force in the kick. It definitely bruised the bones.

Kakashi slides back, and Zabuza quickly moves into a low uppercut. Kakashi arcs backwards, avoiding the attack. He puts his hands on the ground, and pushes himself back up with a big burst of speed. His body blurs as he seems to spring back forwards, and he slams his forehead into Zabuza's head.

The missing-nin's eyes go white as a searing pain registers in his head. He grips his head reflexively, backing away from Kakashi. Kakashi chases after him, throwing punches and kicks in a relatively random pattern.

Zabuza blocks the blows or avoids them, trying to ignore his bleeding forehead. Kakashi sends one more punch, then drops to the floor to avoid a retaliatory punch from Zabuza. He spins on the ground, picking up speed, then launches into the air. He flips, and brings a leg up. He brings it down with a yell, putting all his strength into the blow.

Zabuza sees this and brings his arms up, blocking the attack. The bridge cracks beneath them from the sheer force in the kick, but Zabuza didn't seem to be too troubled by it. Zabuza grips onto Kakashi's leg, and brings his opponent down to the ground.

Kakashi slams into the bridge with immense force, gagging as his breath leaves him. Zabuza pulls Kakashi back again, then throws the Konoha ninja away. Kakashi flips midair, landing on his feet and sliding backwards.

Both of them pant in exhaustion, eyeing each other warily. They were waiting for something. They didn't know what, but they knew it was coming.

Then, suddenly, the world goes red. Zabuza's eyes go wide as an instinctual fear clings at his heart. He grabs his chest as images of a massive beast, the size of a mountain, roars at him directly. He felt like a pest, an ant, to this indescribable power.

Kakashi stumbles as the effect hits him. He saw something different though. Sasuke, his adorable little student, gripping his head in pain. Over his hunched form stood a massive fox, roaring to the heavens in anguish.

He blinks, and the illusions seem to dim somewhat. He turns to where the feeling was originating from, and his eyes go wide. He could see a red, malevolent chakra coming from an ice mirror dome in torrents. Kakashi stares a bit, fear clinging at him, but more than just the one from this chakra. "Sasuke."

Without another word, he rushes to the dome. Nothing else mattered. He needed to protect his students, no matter the cost. He would not fail this time.

 **-A/N-**

 **Thus the bridge fight begins! Here is the battle with Kakashi and Zabuza. I am actually quite proud of this. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did!**


End file.
